Kaure's Tribe Guardians of Humanity
by Moosical
Summary: Edward, Bella, Renesmee and Jacob go to Isle Esme. The Volturi are fast approaching keen to acquire some new members and with their families so far away can Kaure and her tribe protect them. It seems everyone has secrets, some bigger than others.
1. Unwelcome Visitors

**Chapter 1 – Unwelcome Visitors**

Kaure was angry. Gustavo kept asking her to calm down, but she couldn't. It may have been 8 months since she saw Edward Cullen and that poor girl, but it felt like only yesterday. The girl still featured in her dreams. It was always the same vision of her pale and drawn with a rising bump.

Her anger was fuelled by disappointment. She had known all along what the Cullens were. Her people had dealt with them many times in the past, but she always thought that they were different to the others of their kind. They seemed gentler and more human. The most striking feature she always remembers was their golden eyes. She had been so used to dealing with the crimson red eyes of their kind that she never could get over the difference.

She felt like she could trust them and respect them until Edward brought that girl to the island. They claimed to be in love and just married, but seeing how frail and worried she looked on that fateful day, with her swollen stomach filling with his child, a child that would slowly kill her from the inside, has haunted Kaure since.

She never thought any of those Cullens would dare return to the Island. Too worried that their son would be outed as the monster he was, let alone out their secret, but Gustavo had just calmly informed her that Carlisle and Esme were enjoying some time on the island and had requested the cleaning crew to attend.

Kaure paced backwards and forwards trying to control her emotions. It had been a long time since she felt so out of control and she was working hard to control herself. Gustavo was looking on feeling a little fearful. He knew all too well what would happen if Kaure didn't calm down and he wanted to avoid that at all costs.

He gently placed his hand on Kaure's shoulder and spoke softly

"Please Kaure, calm down. If you like I can go on my own or take Lolita with me"

"No" Kaure screeched and looked at Gustavo incredulously.

"I am no shirker Gustavo, you know that. I will not be prevented from doing my job for anyone or anything. I will calm down first and do my best to keep my big mouth shut, I know how much the Cullens money means to us and I won't jeopardise that"

Gustavo smiled to himself, he was getting exactly the reaction he wanted. He knew that if he suggested she not go then she would be upset now all he had to do is hope that Kaure could manage not to upset Mr and Mrs Cullen. They couldn't afford to lose them as customers.

As Kaure and Gustavo's boat approached Isle Esme, Gustavo placed his arm on Kaure's shoulder.

"We'll be there soon" he said.

Kaure nodded her head and spent a few moments getting her ready. She patted down her uniform and took a look in the basic mirror they kept on board the boat to make sure that she looked the part. She liked to look just right when she worked on Isle Esme and let Gustavo know when she was ready.

Kaure and Gustavo got off the boat and made their way to the main house. There was a note on the door telling them that Carlisle and Esme had gone to the mainland for some shopping and would be back later in the afternoon. Gustavo let out a little sigh of relief. If all went smoothly, he and Kaure would finish their cleaning and be on their way back to the mainland before they returned.

They had been through the house cleaning every surface and changing the bed linen and were in the process of returning their equipment to their boat when they saw the Cullens boat approaching.

"Damn it" muttered Gustavo.

He looked at Kaure who was doing her best to take some deep breaths.

"Please Kaure, don't do or say anything you'll regret"

She gave him a weak nod and he prayed to God that she didn't offend their employers.

As Carlisle and Esme docked and alighted they were pleased to see the cleaning crew. It had been a few years since they last saw Gustavo and Kaure and Esme was keen to thank them for keeping the island and house in such good order.

Esme took a moment to take in Gustavo and Kaure's appearance. Gustavo seemed to have aged a little, although his features seemed to have become more defined with age. Kaure however seemed to be exactly as she was when they first met. Her dark hair was just below shoulder length and her face showed age, but was not wrinkled. She was quite short and had a slight figure with a slight stoop to her back.

Esme was always amazed at how eager Kaure and Gustavo were to try to speak English, their accent and pronunciation were sometimes off, but they always tried hard.

Carlisle and Gustavo met each other on the dock and shared a firm handshake.

"Good to see you Mr Cullen" said Gustavo.

"Please call me Carlisle, it's so good to see you again" said Carlisle.

Kaure stood firmly rooted to the spot and tried to keep her rising temper under control. _How could they be here and be so friendly and casual as though nothing had happened_. She thought.

Esme greeted Gustavo warmly then stepped towards Kaure.

"It's been so long dear, you are looking very well. Carlisle and I would like to thank you so much for keeping the house and island is such good order" Esme said politely.

Esme opened her arms to embrace Kaure and was shocked when Kaure stepped back out of her reach. Esme saw the anger in Kaure's features and was confused.

"Whatever is wrong my dear - have I done something to upset or offend you?" Esme asked.

Gustavo quickly stepped to Esme's side.

"Of course you've not upset her Mrs Cullen. Kaure is just under a lot of stress at the moment, isn't that right Kaure?" he asked in a sharp voice.

Kaure looked to Gustavo then back to Mrs Cullen.

_How dare she! _She thought.

_How dare she be friendly and try to embrace me like a long lost friend after what her son did! _

She knew Gustavo was desperate for her not to be rude or brash, but she couldn't bite her tongue any longer

"Actually Mrs Cullen, I don't know that upsets me the most. The fact that your son came to this very island, just 8 months ago and left with a young woman, who looked weak with a rapidly expanding stomach. A human girl at that! - or the fact that you are here as though nothing happened" she seethed.

Kaure narrowed her eyes at Esme.

"I know what you and your family are. My people have had many dealings with your kind and we've been known to kill many in the past, but you and your family seemed different. Golden eyes rather than crimson red and you always seemed so much more civilised and humane, but then your son comes with a human girl and leaves with her half dead and you expect me to embrace you like a long lost friend?" she ranted.

Esme and Carlisle were both taken aback by this outburst. Gustavo was trying his hardest to apologise to them, but all they could focus on was Kaure. How could they have been so stupid! They should have known that she would remember Edward and Bella whilst they honeymooned. Esme remembered them telling her of how badly Kaure had reacted.

"Kaure, please you have to understand that what happened to Bella, Edwards's wife was not planned. None of us knew that their intimate relationship would result in a pregnancy. My son told us of how hard you took it when you saw Bella before they left, but so much has happened since then that we just didn't think, we're sorry" Esme said softly.

"Sorry! You're sorry? What about his wife, Bella. Are you trying to tell me that she knew what your son was, what you all are?" Kaure asked.

Carlisle moved to Esme's side and put his arm around her shoulder.

"Bella knew all about Edward and our family. They chose to marry first, before we would change Bella to be just like us. It is what she wanted. The pregnancy delayed things a little and gave us all a scare as it wasn't something we'd ever dealt with before, but once it was over she did become one of us" Carlisle said.

"What? You expect me to believe that she is now one of you now and that she didn't die from that creature growing in her womb"? Kaure asked incredulously.

She watched as Esme and Carlisle shared a warm smile and tapped her foot impatiently waiting for the answer.

"Yes we do expect you to believe that - it is the truth." Esme said softly.

Kaure couldn't believe her ears. Did they honestly think that if they lied to her about that young woman, she would keep their secret and stop being angry with them?

"I don't believe you. The money you pay us keeps our families so I will not expose your true nature, but I am very disappointed. My people have dealt with many of your kind, but none of them were as human as your family. I thought you were different, better somehow, but knowing what your son did to that poor girl, and the fact you both can defend that… You're really no better than the others of your kind, you just lie more" she snapped.

She could see that Esme was about to speak again but she put her hand out and said "Please, do not try to say any more. Gustavo and I will be leaving now. I know we'll meet again someday, but now I can't be around either of you". She quickly walked to the boat and boarded it waiting for Gustavo to join her.

"I'm so sorry Mr and Mrs Cullen. Please forgive her, Kaure can have quite a temper on her, but you must understand that she has been very badly affected ever since seeing your son and Bella. She has had nightmares ever since has been trying to avoid sleep" Gustavo said quietly.

Carlisle placed a hand on Gustavo's shoulder and said "You are a good man Gustavo, and Kaure is a good woman. Please speak to her; I assure you that Bella is truly fine. She is a part of our family now and she and Edward are happily married. Please try to convince Kaure of that fact. Also please tell her that we intend to prove it to her"

Gustavo nodded his head and joined Kaure on the boat. He relayed Carlisle's message to her and she scoffed. Gustavo shrugged his shoulders and started up the boat. He thanked Carlisle who had untied the boat for him and waved him goodbye. Kaure sat looking away from the island with her arms folded tightly.

Carlisle gave Esme a hug and watched as the couple left. "That is one troubled woman. Even though we tried to tell her that Bella is okay she just wouldn't listen" he said.

Esme nodded and placed her arms around her husband's waist. "When we get back I would like to tell Edward and Bella. I am sure they would be keen to set the record straight, maybe they could come here for a second honeymoon. Do you think they'd like that?" she asked.

Carlisle smiled warmly and nodded. "I'm sure they'd love to my darling, maybe then Kaure will believe her eyes, if she can't believe her ears".


	2. Return to Isle Esme

**Chapter 2 – Return to Isle Esme**

When Esme and Carlisle returned home they were pounced on by their family. After they unpacked, they listened to Jasper and Alice update them about their plans to help some of the pack redecorate their homes at La Push. Rosalie and excitedly announced they planned to have another wedding soon and Renesmee relayed all the fun she'd been having with Jacob, whilst they were gone.

Edward and Bella updated them on their plans for Dartmouth. Edward had been in touch with them and they had agreed to let them start in the New Year, as long as they completed all the preparatory work and catch-up that they would be sent in the post. Edward had convinced Dartmouth of a great personal tragedy they had faced, which caused them to miss the start of term.

They patiently answered all the questions about how their holiday went and once everyone seemed happy they asked to speak to Edward and Bella alone.

Carlisle and Esme explained all about their encounter with Kaure and how badly affected she had been when she last saw Edward and Bella. They explained that they had tried to convince Kaure that Bella was okay, but that Kaure would not listen.

Edward didn't have to read Bella's mind to know exactly what she was thinking. Bella fidgeted a little in her seat and turned to Edward, just as she was about to speak he put his finger gently to her lips and said "Of course, we can go to Isle Esme".

Edward and Bella embraced as Carlisle and Esme looked on fondly. It took a few days, but soon enough all the arrangements were made. Edward and Bella were set to return to Isle Esme for a second honeymoon. They decided to take Renesmee with them.

Jacob made it abundantly clear that he couldn't bear to be apart from Renesmee for any length of time. The bond they shared was just too great. He explained that the pack would be fine without him for a little while. for any length of time and, although Edward sympathised with Jacob he wanted it to be just the three of them, but Renesmee used her gift and filled his mind with visions of Jacob and how happy that made her feel. She also showed him visions of her feeling lost whenever they were apart. With a heavy sigh Edward agreed that Jacob could come with them.

******

The journey to Isle Esme was pretty uneventful. Renesmee and Jacob did a lot of sleeping and that gave Edward and Bella plenty of alone time. Bella was determined to set things right with Kaure, she was very anxious; having remembered just how badly Kaure had reacted when they last saw each other. Edward shuddered at the memory of a frail human Bella carrying their child and looking pale and weak.

Edward and Bella had discovered enough from Carlisle and Esme to suspect that Kaure knew a lot more about their kind than she had initially let on. Edward remembered clearly that Kaure knew roughly what he was due to her tribes legends of the Libishmon, but it appeared that her understanding went far beyond that. They agreed to be cautious, but not to hide too much for Kaure.

Once they were on the island they made their way to the house. Renesmee was busy running from room to room taking in all the scenery. She had Jacob following her like a little lap dog. He did feel a little silly, but he would do anything for Renesmee. Edward and Bella took their time to take in the familiar sights that greeted them.

They weren't sure when Kaure would come, but they knew that she would be well aware of their arrival to the island. Aside from their phone call to Gustavo to work out the cleaning arrangements, word travelled fast.

*****

Edward was in the house cooking some food for Jacob and Renesmee, who were busy exploring the island, with Bella. He couldn't see them, but his extra sensitive hearing could pick up their excited voices and laughter as they enjoyed taking in all the new sights.

After a while he heard a boat approaching. Edward stopped preparing the food for Renesmee, which Carlisle insisted Renesmee eat at least once a day, despite her obvious preference of Blood. He made his way to the launch and watched as the boat got closer and closer, after a while he could see that it was indeed Kaure

He listened out to her thoughts as she neared, but was surprised when he only got snippets. She wasn't as silent as Bella was, but her mind certainly wasn't fully open to him.

Edward was sure though, from the odd thoughts he could read that Carlisle and Esme weren't wrong about Kaure not believing them about Bella. All the thoughts he could pick up from her were about him and she was very angry.

Edward started to feel inexplicably nervous as he waited. He watched as the boat pulled up to the launch and Kaure jumped off, she tied the boat off then paced towards him. Her eyes were glaring and there was something a little strange about them.

Edward stiffened a little and tried to compose himself. He couldn't quite understand why he was feeling so nervous; she was just a human, after all! Though something about her was rather odd, her scent was also off, he couldn't understand why, he never picked anything up when they last met, but then he realised all of his thoughts had centred on Bella at that time.

"Kaure" he said "It's a pleasure to meet you again, I am sorry we left so suddenly the last time". He backed up his words with a warm smile and decided that keeping it light and jovial was the best course of action.

Kaure stopped when she was almost next to him and her face was simmering in rage. "How... Dare... You" she screamed.

She shook her head and tried to compose herself, but she couldn't believe how flippant he appeared. "You dare show up here after what you did to that poor young woman". She moved closer to him and jabbed at his chest with her finger.

"You should be ashamed of yourself; instead here you stand before me as though you are not the monster that you are."

Edward stayed quiet and let Kaure rant at him, but he was finding it hard to bite his tongue. "You don't understand! Bella really is fine. You may think you know what you saw the last time we were here, but you are mistaken. I know Carlisle and Esme tried to explain to you, but they weren't wrong when they said you were too stubborn to believe them!"

Edward watched as Kaure's face contorted with anger. He tried desperately to zone in on her thoughts, but he could only hear elements and it was starting to make him nervous.

He was suddenly snapped out of his thoughts when he heard Kaure snarl "Of course I didn't believe them or you! Do you think I am stupid? Do you think I am just another weak pathetic human that you can fool into believing your every word? I know what I saw with my own two eyes and I have seen it before. There is no way that poor young woman survived. I can only begin to imagine how much she suffered before your child killed her. How dare you try to insult my intelligence or sully her memory with these lies?"

Edward was now starting to get riled. "If you had shouted at me like this, just before we left last time I would have stood there and taken it. I still remember all too vividly how Bella looked back then and whilst I went through hell watching her suffer as a result of our actions I cannot find myself to regret it as I was truly blessed with a miracle as a result of it".

Kaure was confused and couldn't quite comprehend what he meant. "What do you mean, you can't regret it? You took that young woman's life and sentenced her to death. Are you trying to tell me she carried the child to term?"

Edward nodded at Kaure and his mind filled with images of Renesmee. Whilst he still grimaced every time he got flashbacks of Bella during her pregnancy, he couldn't wish it never happened as he'd never have his beautiful daughter if he did that.

Kaure reeled back in shock slightly. Was it possible that the young woman, this Bella had his child and survived? Why did he and the others keep insisting that she was now one of them? She knew what she saw and she knew full well what that meant, given that she'd seen it all before, but why did he stand there and keep insisting that she was wrong?

"Are you trying to tell me, that this Bella, the young woman you married and continuously profess to love had your child whilst still human and did not die?" Kaure asked.

She stared at Edward watching him closely and studying him for any signs of lying.

"Not Exactly" Edward replied cautiously.

Kaure sighed and shook her head. "What does 'Not Exactly' mean?" she probed further. She was starting to lose her patience. She placed her hand in her pocked and placed the tri-let on her hand making sure the pendant was snug in the centre of her hand. She was starting to tire of his trickery. Either he started talking some sense or she finished the job she came to do and got the hell out of there.

Edward paused for a few moments and proceeded carefully. "How much do you know of my kind?" he asked.

Kaure was a little taken aback by the question but decided to answer. "My people have come across your kind many times. In fact many of my ancestors were known as the 'Guardians of Humanity'. It was their job to protect the norms or innocent humans from your kind. We were once greatly feared by your kind, due to the methods in which we dispatched you."

She paused for a moment trying to gauge Edward's reaction.

"There is one, slight difference between your kind that I and my people have come across and you and your 'family' and that is your eyes. Most of your kind that we encounter has red eyes, but yours are golden. Why is that?" she asked.

Edward gave a small smile at Kaure and decided not to hold back. "My family, we're different to the others of our kind. The vampires you have come across will all have embraced the standard lifestyle for us. That is to feed on humans. My family, well we abstain from that, we refer to ourselves as vegetarians as we only feed on the blood of animals".

Kaure was astonished. "You mean you do not harm humans? You live among them?" she asked.

Edward nodded. "Yes we do. Carlisle is a doctor and has been for many years. I met Bella at the high school I was attending with my siblings. We aren't perfect and sometimes we do occasionally slip up, but we work hard at denying our natural instincts and controlling them with careful hunting".

Kaure found this quite fascinating, never had her ancestors or her people ever spoke of seeing any vampires with golden eyes. "Very interesting" she said.

"Was this Bella a 'slip up' then" she asked, finding his comments in quite poor taste.

Edward shook his head. "Bella and I are unusual to say the least. It is very rare for a human and a vampire to fall in love like we did. I know that your legends spoke of the Libishimon, that preyed on young women and impregnated them before devouring them, but that is not what I am, though I can understand how that looked".

"It's just... for some time Bella had made it very clear that she wanted to become a vampire like me and my family. I tried to resist her request for so long, but eventually I relented.

My only request was that she married me first and then I would change her; however she decided she wanted to add an additional demand of her own. She wanted us to consummate our marriage, whilst she was still human, before I changed her. She said it was a human experience she didn't want to miss."

"What?" screeched Kaure "How on earth could you have agreed to that? Do you honestly expect me to believe that you... a Vampire, with super human strength, would agree to any demands made by a human, even if you did profess to love her?"

Edward nodded his head and smiled. "I may have super human strength, I may be ultra fast and I may have other talents, but with Bella I have always been weak. I gave into her far too easily" he said.

Kaure tried to process all this information. Her people had dealt with his kind for a long time and she knew how deceiving they could be, but a part of her believed him. Could this Bella really have survived, or at least been turned into one of them?

"You said that you and your family are 'vegetarian' vampires and do not feed on humans. If this is true then how did you turn Bella? Surely that would go against what you stand for" she asked.

"Turning her into one of us was a necessity to save her. If I didn't do that then she would have surely died" he responded.

"So you are telling me that you both willingly made love, she got pregnant unexpectedly and that despite being a frail human she carried your child to term and successfully gave birth then you saved her by turning her into one of your kind" Kaure recapped.

"It wasn't quite as easy as you made it all sound, Bella's body really did struggle during the pregnancy, but yes that is correct" Edward replied.

Kaure's mind was reeling, could any of this be true? Was he speaking the truth or was he being deceiving like his kind was more than capable. She studied his face for a few moments and couldn't see any signs of deceit on his face.

"I can prove to you that she is okay" Edward said gently.

"How" croaked Kaure.

"Well she is here with me and….. Our daughter" Edward said.

Kaure took a step back and shook her head. "You're trying to trick me!" She accused.

"How can I be sure that you aren't just trying to get me inside so you can devour me in private?" she asked.

Edward was taken aback by these accusations.

"Don't be absurd!" he said his voice a little harsher than intended. He took a step towards Kaure and offered out his hand. "If I truly wanted to devour you I wouldn't need to go inside, we're on a private island after all. Please come inside Bella and Renesmee won't be long. Bella has been so keen to see you, to prove she's okay".

Kaure had heard enough, she took her hands out of her pocket and stepped towards Edward. She moved one hand to take his then swiftly moved the other hand with the tri-let pendant to his forehead.

Edward couldn't pick up her thoughts so had no idea what she was trying to do. She was too fast for him to react to. Although he shook it off after a few seconds Kaure managed to place it on his forehead, but nothing happened.

Suddenly Bella appeared alongside a long haired man and a young child.

She couldn't believe what she was seeing. There was that young woman Bella, only she looked far more beautiful and more robust. She realised with horror that he hadn't been lying. She couldn't believe she'd placed the bloodstone to his head, without going inside as he requested. She was so lost in her thoughts and gazing at Bella that she realised that she had held the bloodstone to his head, but nothing had happened

She took a step back and studied his face. "Are you... are you okay?" she asked him, full of concern.

Edward narrowed his eyes a little and looked at Kaure. "I'm fine, but what was that thing you just put to my forehead?" he asked.

"Did it hurt you? Do you feel hot at all, is there any pain in your head?" she asked.

Edward shook his head, then backed up from Kaure a little, he suddenly felt a little afraid of that pendant that was held against her hand.

"I didn't feel anything, but what is that thing?" he asked. He looked over to Bell and smiled warmly. He put out his hand and beckoned her to join him.

Kaure was too busy staring at Bella to hear what Edward had asked. "You're okay, you are really okay" she said to Bella.

Bella hurried over to Edward's side and smiled warmly at Kaure. "Yes I am fine, I'm obviously a vampire now, just like Edward, but I am really fine and I am so sorry about how I appeared to you when we last met, it was under the most unusual circumstances".

Kaure studied Bella a little more closely and recoiled when she saw her red eyes. "Your eyes, they aren't golden like his. Does that mean you feast on humans?" she asked warily.

"No, it doesn't" Bella assured "It's just because I am what they call a newborn. My eyes will gradually turn golden over the next month or two. I haven't even touched a drop of human blood since becoming a vampire."

Kaure just nodded and smiled in relief.

"Edward did ask you a question though and I must say I am just as curious" she said.

"What is that thing in your hand and why did you press it to Edward's head?"

Kaure shook her head and quickly unhooked the tri-let from her hand and held it up to show Edward and Bella.

"This" she said, holding it out towards them "Is a bloodstone, held on a tri-let, which allows the holder to keep the stone pressed against their palm. My tribe, as I said were often seen as guardians to humanity and it was our duty to protect humans from your kind or at least the red eye version. When this is pressed to the forehead of one of your kind, by one of my people it generally results in some screaming, followed by spontaneous combustion, whilst the vampire is turned to dust". She finished.

Edward and Bella looked to each other astonished. "But, nothing happened to Edward?" Bella said her voice full of relief.

"I don't understand that myself either - My only guess is that it's down to your 'vegetarian' diet". She said

Edward shook his head from side to side trying to comprehend what Kaure was saying. "So, if I had drunk from a human recently then I would have been destroyed by that bloodstone" he asked.

Kaure nodded her head. "Yes, I am so sorry, it's just you were trying to beckon me into the house, I still didn't believe you regarding Bella at that point and I.... I, oh I am so sorry. I am so relieved that it didn't work on you, I have to admit though that until this day I have never seen it … not work".

Edward and Bella embraced and asked Kaure if she'd join them in the house, where it would be a little more comfortable. "I think we have a lot to talk about" Bella said, in a slightly strained voice. She couldn't quite get over what had just happened and felt a little sick to consider how close she had come to losing Edward.

"Please come inside and we can have a longer talk".

Kaure nodded and followed Edward and Bella inside. Her mind was spinning. She'd spent so long being haunted by the Bella she saw all those months ago and she had refused to listen to Carlisle or Esme or Edward for that matter and she felt foolish. She owed it to them to listen now and also to explain more of the reasons why she had reacted so strongly.

Once they reached the living room she sat on the couch and gladly accepted the glass of water Bella prepared for her. She noticed that there were a couple of plates of food prepared and left out on the kitchen counter. "I thought you didn't eat. I mean I thought you didn't eat normal human food" she asked.

Edward and Bella glanced at each other and silently agreed not to hold back. "That's not for us, it is for our daughter Renesmee and our friend Jacob" Edward answered"

Kaure had almost forgotten about the child and the long haired man, who were still standing outside. She discreetly sniffed the air and the scent of the child reminded her of so much of Tawémake. The other scent reminded her of one of the larger dogs that lived on the tribal compound.

"I see that we have much to discuss - where shall we start?" she asked.


	3. Shared Truths

**Chapter 3 – Shared truths**

Bella observed the uneasy silence after Kaure asked where they should start. Bella was usually such a private person, but she a strange connection with Kaure and felt at ease talking to her.

"Well I guess the most obvious place to start would be with me. I know how terrible I must have looked when you saw us on our honeymoon. I overheard you both talking outside and I know Edward's already explained that as a human I had made a request of him that we consummate our wedding day whilst I was still human. It was just a human experience I was unwilling to give up on"

Bella looked over at Edward and smiled warmly. "Neither of us expected me to get pregnant. Relationships between human and vampire are pretty rare and the pregnancy was a shock to us both and our family".

"As soon as we realised I was pregnant, Edward was frantic, it became very obvious that the baby was growing super fast and I was suffering quite a lot with nausea, which is why I looked so frail and Edward was beside himself with worry. He wanted Carlisle to terminate the pregnancy, but I am afraid that my maternal instinct, which ironically wasn't something I knew I had in me, kicked in and I was determined to keep it."

Kaure interrupted "But, you were just human, surely he could have made you end the pregnancy?"

Kaure glanced at Edward.

"I could have, but I loved her so much I just couldn't do that to her" Edward interjected.

Bella continued to tell Kaure all about her pregnancy, the unconventional birth and the decision to change her right there and then to prevent her from dying. Kaure listened to everything intently, pausing here and there to ask a few questions.

Kaure sat there in stunned silence. "So Renesmee, your daughter is alive? And you survived?" she repeated. Edward and Bella nodded in agreement.

Kaure was deep in thought when she heard Edward's voice. "Would you like to meet her?" he asked gently.

"She's here?" Kaure gasped, feeling more relieved that the bloodstone hadn't worked.

"I'd love to meet her" he said.

Kaure paused for a moment to consider her next actions.

"Wait, before you bring her in, I need to do something" Kaure said quickly

Edward and Bella looked to each other and shared a confused glance, but turned back to Kaure and encouraged her to do whatever it was she needed to do.

"I guess I should reveal the real me, I wouldn't want Renesmee getting too confused" she offered.

Edward and Bella were both unsure what to make of Kaure's strange behaviour, but nodded.

Kaure smiled, knowing that what she was about to do would cause quite a reaction.

"May I use the bathroom" she asked.

Bella chuckled "Of course, you know where it is"

As Kaure headed to the bathroom Bella lowered her shield.

'What do you think she is going to do" she asked Edward in her mind.

He shrugged his shoulders and shook his head. "I have no idea he whispered"

A few moments later Edward and Bella turned their attention to the doorway when they heard Kaure approaching.

As Kaure appeared in view Bella gasped.

Kaure had changed, quite dramatically, she looked taller and leaner and younger.

"But..." Bella began

Kaure chuckled. "I promise I will explain all soon, but first I would love to meet Renesmee"

Bella felt very confused, but was relieved when Kaure promised to explain things later.

"Okay - Please be open minded though, Renesmee is part human, part vampire and as a result is aging quite rapidly." Bella said gently.

Kaure nodded and smiled. "I am open minded I assure you."

Bella smiled warmly and left Edward and Kaure sitting in the living room. She stepped outside to where Jacob was standing outside with Renesmee.

As soon as Bella was spotted Renesmee ran over to her and jumped up in her arms. "Mommy!" she beamed.

Renesmee placed her hand to Bella's cheek and replayed all the fun she and Jacob had been having.

"Looks like you've been having a lot of fun" Bella responded and kissed her daughter gently on the forehead.

Bella turned to Jacob and smiled "Thanks for keeping her entertained Jake."

Jacob walked over to where Bella and Renesmee stood and placed his arm over Bella's shoulder. "I think she's been the one keeping me entertained" he joked.

Bella filled Jacob and Renesmee in with details of their visitor. Renesmee pouted when Bella went over the part where Kaure used the bloodstone on Edward, but Bella assured her that it had done no harm and that Kaure was keen to meet her.

Jacob listened intently. He sniffed the air and aside from the smell of vampires he wasn't getting a smell of human. The scene had similarities to human, but there was something rather different about it.

"I'm coming too" Jacob said brashly.

Bella turned to look up to Jacob. "Of course you are Jake, I never expected anything else".

They all ran back to the house and entered the living room together. Bella was relieved that Kaure and Edward seemed to be talking happily.

Jacob had insisted on holding Renesmee in order to protect her in case Kaure decided to try anything funny. Bella tried to tell him not to be silly, but he insisted.

"Kaure, this is Jacob. He's a friend of ours and this is Renesmee our daughter" Bella said.

Kaure stood up and turned to face Bella and the others. As soon as she saw Jacob she understood his heritage. That explained the strange smell. He was a Quileute.

Kaure looked at Renesmee and smiled. "She looks just like her parents" she said kindly. "It's a pleasure to meet you Renesmee. Are you enjoying your time on the island?"

Before Renesmee had a chance to respond Edward cleared his throat. "You are speaking to her as though you know she can understand and respond. That's quite unusual. Most people speak to her like a toddler"

Kaure nodded her head in Edward's direction and sighed. "Renesmee is not the first half vampire half human child I know. I am well aware of how advanced she will be. Does she have any additional talents?"

Bella, Edward and Jacob were visibly shocked. "We were under the impression that she is very rare"

Kaure chuckled at their naivety. "I owe you an explanation. Not only will it explain how I know of another child just like Renesmee, it will also explain how I reacted so badly when we last met."

Kaure took a seat on the couch and beckoned for the others to sit down. She couldn't help but look at Renesmee again. "You really are so beautiful. I have someone I would like you to meet, if your parents and guard dog allow it"

Renesmee chuckled at Kaure's nickname for Jacob. She didn't know this lady but was very intrigued by her.

"Hey! Why did you call me a guard dog" asked Jacob gruffly.

Kaure grinned and couldn't pass up this option to tease him. "Oh come on, you're a Quileute. You are a shape shifting wolf, what else was I going to call you"

Jacob was shocked. The whole room had fallen silent and Kaure was enjoying this a little bit too much.

Edward was the first one to speak. "I think you have quite a lot to tell us Kaure, why don't you make a start"

Kaure nodded and giggled "Very well, but I was just having a little fun. Okay so I guess the first thing I should say is that much like Wolfboy over there I and my people are not entirely human. The Quileute are quite a simple tribe to understand. Those that qualify, generally the males of the tribe shape shift into wolves to protect themselves and other humans from vampires or the cold ones. My tribe are a little different. It's generally the women of our tribe who can shape shift, though others in the tribe can earn the right, but fulfilling a number of ceremonial tasks. We are also not restricted to shape shifting into one form. We have the ability to shift into whatever our opponent greatly fears, or greatly desires. We do however tend to favour the MngWa. It's more ferocious than a lion and deadlier than a leopard. It has dark grey fur with darker stripes. I guess you could say we're like cousins to the Quileute tribe."

Kaure paused to take in the look of stunned faces around the room.

"Just like Jacob's tribe, those of us who shape shift do not age. In order for us to blend in, we often shape shift into characters. Such as the middle aged cleaner with the stooped back"

She smiled as Edward and Bella's face showed that they suddenly comprehended. The Kaure they had known was simply a manifestation of the true Kaure that they could see now.

"So how old are you?" asked Edward

Kaure chuckled and shrugged her shoulders

"Let's just say you're not the only centenarian in the room" she teased.

Edward raked his hand through his hair and smiled. He nodded to Kaure and encouraged her to continue.

Kaure smiled and explained more about herself and her tribe.

"As well as our shape shifting abilities we have the bloodstone, which is very effective at turning vampires to dust, yet today I learned that it depends on their diet. So that's a little more about who I am, now let's get into why I reacted so badly to seeing Bella pregnant the last time we met"

Kaure held her hand out to Renesmee, who took it gladly.

"You are such a beautiful young girl. I have a niece; her name is Tawémake, in our native language that means moon. Her mum, my sister died during childbirth. You see, your mum is not the only human to have fallen for a vampire. My sister Yula, she fell deeply in love, however she didn't know that the man she loved was a vampire. He left quite suddenly, claiming that he had to go back to his masters, but that he'd try to come back to visit her if he was ever given the chance. My sister was devastated. She curled up in a ball on her bed and cried for days. When she finally emerged from her bed her stomach was rounded and she felt unwell. We soon realised she was pregnant. She refused to end the pregnancy and went through all of the pain as the baby broke her ribs and literally drank her dry. My sister made me promise not to take her suffering out on the child. I will admit I struggled to make that promise, but I did eventually relent. "

Kaure wiped the tear that was forming in her eye.

"When my sister went into labour she was just too weak to survive it. My sister was just a normal human within our tribe; she didn't want to be a shape-shifter, so she had no extra strength, just sheer determination. When Tawémake was born Yula managed to stay alive just long enough to look at her for a few seconds and push me about my promise. As she took her final breath I was so desolate. I came so close to destroying Tawémake, but as I looked into the child's eyes I saw my sister in them. From that day on I have raised her as best I could. That was 3 years ago, but Tawémake is around 10 years old physically."

Kaure was exhausted after sharing all of that. She sat taking a few breaths trying to calm down after sharing all those difficult memories.

Bella spoke next. "No wonder you reacted so badly when you realised I was pregnant. I am so sorry your sister didn't make it. It sounds like you kept your promise to look after Tawémake and I am sure you have been doing that very well."

Renesmee started to struggle in Bella's lap and she loosened her grip. Renesmee climbed up on Kaure's lap and wiped away the tear that was rolling own her cheek. She smiled at Kaure cautiously and placed her hand to Kaure's cheek.

Kaure gasped as her mind was full of images of Bella giving birth and then Bella's transformation into a vampire, images of Edward full of concern for his wife and of the love that Renesmee felt for her parents. There were then images of Jacob, many of them and Kaure rolled her eyes when she realised that he must have imprinted on this child.

There was then a vision of a group of vampires approaching Renesmee and her family and others and the threat of death. Kaure gasped again as she recognised one of the figures in the confrontation.

She gently took Renesmee's hand from her cheek and thanked her. "Wow that is quite a gift your child has. Tawémake has an interesting gift too. She can give life. She's not strong enough to do it to humans, but she can regenerate plants and some animals"

Kaure didn't even pause to allow anyone to speak.

"One of the visions that Renesmee just played were of you all standing on a large field amongst others, whilst a group of red eyed vampires approached. There was a sheer sense of fear. Who were the vampires in Rensemee's memories and what were they doing?"

Kaure listened patiently as Edward explained all about the Volturi, who they were and how they wanted to destroy them.

"How interesting!" Was the first response from Kaure. "I recognised one of the Volturi, does the name Felix ring a bell?"

Edward and Bella exchanged looks. "He's one of the Volturi guard." they both responded together.

Kaure hissed. "That vampire, is the one who got my sister pregnant"

Bella didn't know what to say or do. "I am so sorry Kaure; we can assure you they are no friends of ours. The Volturi are like the royal family of the vampire world. They try to keep order, but they are quite corrupt. They don't believe that as vampires we should deny our right to feed on humans and they are very keen for Edward and me to join them."

Kaure shook her head wildly and patted Bella on the knee. "The vision that Renesmee showed me, made it more than clear that they were no friends of yours. I believe there are some stories that the elders in our tribe share that mention the Volturi. Would you all like to come with me to the mainland and meet my tribe? I am sure Tawémake would love to meet Renesmee."

It didn't take much discussion for all of them to agree. Bella insisted that Jacob, Renesmee and Kaure had something to eat before they set off and excused herself and Edward as they did a quick hunt. They wouldn't catch much on the island, but they'd be able to get enough to keep them going until they could go to the mainland to do a bigger hunt.

"It's really been quite a big day hasn't it" she said to her husband as they walked hand in hand back to the house.

Edward turned to Bella and smiled "It sure has, it sure has. I am still in shock over the whole bloodstone thing. I mean the thought of spontaneous combustion isn't one I am happy to have." He tried to keep his tone light, but he was very shaken by the existence of such a weapon.

"I do hope that the Volturi never learn of its existence. It would make Kaure and her people a target" Edward continued.

Bella nodded and squeezed Edwards hand tightly.


	4. Meeting the tribe

**Chapter 4 – Meeting the tribe.**

The journey to the mainland was uneventful. Renesmee bounced excitedly on Bella's knee whilst her eyes darted everywhere and Edward pointed out all the interesting sharks and fish that were visible in the water to their superior eyes.

Jacob spent most of the journey talking to Kaure. They spoke quite quietly but Edward and Bella heard everything. Jacob was very intrigued to find a tribe similar to his own, but was a little affronted that she knew so much about their tribe, but he and his pack had hear nothing of them.

As the boat pulled up to shore they were greeted by Gustavo. Kaure had spoken to him on the phone and updated him of a few things.

"Mr Edward, Mrs Bella, it's a pleasure to meet you again. I am so happy you've come to visit." Gustavo said pleasantly.

Gustavo exchanged glances with Kaure and she sighed. "Let me introduce you to Jacob and Renesmee" she said pointing to Jacob who was proudly holding Renesmee.

"A Quileute" Gasped Gustavo.

"What is it with everyone knowing who I am around here and me not having a bloody clue" moaned Jacob, before breaking out into a smile and offering his hand to Gustavo to shake.

Gustavo broke the handshake with Jacob and turned to Renesmee. "Oh she is such a beautiful young lady. She is so much like Tawémake, just like you said she would be"

He spun around to Kaure and she nodded her head vigorously.

Gustavo stroked his chin "So fascinating."

Kaure filled Gustavo in about what had happened at Isle Esme. He listened patiently and quietly, simply nodding his head now and then, though he did gasp when Kaure mentioned the reasoning behind the golden eyes and that the bloodstone did not work on Edward.

"You used the bloodstone against Edward – shame on you Kaure" Gustavo yelled.

"To be fair at the time I still did not believe him about Bella and he was trying to get me into the house, I am of course very grateful that it did not work." retorted Kaure.

After Gustavo was up to speed he led them all into the compound.

"Here is where our tribe lives, our houses are fairly primitive, but as a people we have simple needs. The fact that a large number of our tribe can shape-shift makes hunting for food and security quite easy"

Edward nodded and asked "So how many of the tribe can shape-shift?"

Gustavo thought for a moment and said "I think around 18 of our tribe can do it. Many choose not to, unless absolutely necessary, but others seem to enjoy it. Out of those 18, there are 10 who are more practiced, including Kaure. Those 10 each carry a bloodstone and tri-let"

Kaure suddenly remembered the vision that Renesmee had showed her. "I almost forgot. Not too long ago a group of vampires known as the Volturi attempted to destroy the Cullens and young Renesmee. Felix, the vampire who got Yula pregnant was among them"

Gustavo face contorted with rage. "Does that piece of scum still exist?"

Edward nodded his head. "We barely managed to avoid an all out battle; it was a miracle that there were no casualties on either side"

As they reached a larger shack, which appeared to be a community hub, they took seats whilst Kaure went to gather some other people. Edward explained the Volturi in more detail.

Kaure arrived back with 3 or 4 women, who were all of a similar stature to her. They all had the same sort of smell as Kaure and moved with an air of elegance.

"It's a pleasure to meet you. We have heard tales of vampires who avoid feasting on humans, but we always thought that they were just legends." The middle one spoke.

"My name is Athena and these are my sisters Pandora and Grace. There is also another young lady who wishes to see you, especially the child you bring"

Suddenly a young girl, who appeared to be about 11 or 12, poked her head out from behind Grace's back. She was a very pretty young girl, with short dark hair and a light olive skin. Her eyes were a deep chocolate brown and her cheeks were rounded.

"Hi" she said a little nervously.

Edward, Bella and Jacob all smiled at her and said a "hi" back, but Renesmee decided to take a more direct approach.

She ran over to her and offered out her hand in friendship. "I'm Renesmee; it's a pleasure to meet you"

Tawémake giggled and held onto Renesmee's hand, the two girls found somewhere to sit and started chatting and giggling together.

Tawémake entertained Renesmee by taking a bunch of wilting flowers and turning them into a colourful bloom of beautiful flowers.

Renesmee returned the favour by placing her hand to Tawémake's cheek and relaying some memories for her.

Edward, Bella, Jacob and the others all looked on with smiles on their faces.


	5. Plans and Visions

**Chapter 5 – Plans and Visions**

**Volterra, Italy.**

Aro, Marcus and Caius were holding a meeting with their wives and a select committee of their guards in their war chamber. Aro and his brothers sat on almost regal like thrones as they carried out the meeting.

It had been many months since the confrontation with the Cullens and their supporters, but they were still bitter about it. The fact that they did not have the advantage over them in the fight was still weighing very heavily on Aro's mind.

They were discussing holding a small party in the city for tourists so that they could lead some into their tunnels and have a feast when the door swung open. It had been a while since they last treated themselves to such an event

All eyes darted to the door, which flung open and one of the guard ran into the room and bowed his head. "Please forgive my intrusion, but we have news that we think will be of great interest to you all"

Aro ignored the grumbling protestations of his brothers and urged the guard to carry on and deliver his news.

As the guard shared the fact that Edward, Bella and Renesmee were alone at Isle Esme, with one of the shape shifting wolves the whole room fell into hushed whispers.

"See my brothers, all it takes is a little patience, I knew we'd get our chance someday" Aro sang out happily!

Marcus turned to the guard and asked. "What of the other Cullens where are they now?"

"They are all in Forks going about their usual duties. There is nothing would indicate that any of them plan to travel any time soon. In fact Carlisle and Esme have recently returned. We've also kept tabs on the pack of wolves as you requested and none of them show any signs of going anywhere." The guard explained.

After going through some more details with him Aro dismissed the guard and he and his brothers began to plot their next move.

The current travel information suggested that would need to work quickly, but they all agreed that this was the opportunity that they had been waiting for. If they could acquire Edward, Bella and Renesmee not only would they have all those extra powers at their disposal, but they would have the perfect bargaining chips to get Alice to join them too.

**The Cullen Mansion**

Emmett and Jasper were watching a game and arguing over which side would win, when Alice, who had been sat nearby leafing through a fashion magazine suddenly froze.

Jasper recognised that glazed over look instantly. Alice was having a vision. He swiftly moved to sit near her and passed her some paper and a pen in case she needed to write or sketch anything down.

Alice saw flashes of Aro and his brothers in some sort of meeting. She sees a guard telling them that Edward, Bella and Renesmee are at Isle Esme with Jacob. She can see them making plans to go to Isle Esme, but then everything disappears.

She relays this all to Jasper and Emmett. "With Renesmee and Jacob there I can't see anything other than what the Volturi are planning. I can't even tell if they are captured or anything!"

Alice placed her head in her hands and rocked gently. She didn't like this; she didn't like it at all!

Whilst Jasper tried to console Alice, Emmett called Carlisle and filled him in. He told him to get everyone together so they could discuss their next steps.

As they family sat around the dining room table to discuss Alice's vision they debated what to do next. Emmett wanted to grab the first plane to Isle Esme so he could be there to fight, but Carlisle pointed out that even if the whole family reached Isle Esme in time they were no match for the Volturi.

"We have to do something" yelled Emmett, whilst banging his fists on the table.

Carlisle took a few deep breaths and closed his eyes to think.

"Okay here's what we are going to do. Alice, you, Rosalie and Esme are going to stay here. One of you can call Edward and let him know about Alice's vision. The other two see if there is any way we can get them all on a plane home as soon as possible, maybe we can get them away from danger in time."

Carlisle paused to make sure they had got that.

"Emmett, Jasper and I are going to La Push to speak with Sam. One of their own is in danger and I would like to give them a say in what we should do next."

Without hesitation he busied themselves looking at travel plans to see what the quickest route possible would be, whilst Alice tried to get in touch with Edward.

- - - - -

Carlisle had called ahead to warn Sam that they were coming. As they drove to Sam's house they were almost amused by what they were greeted with. There was Sam, with almost the entire pack flanking either side of him.

"Still as trusting as ever" groaned Emmett.

As they were exiting the car, Carlisle called over to Sam. "Thank you for agreeing to meet with us – I am sorry it was such short notice, but this is really quite urgent."

Carlisle approached cautiously with his sons following closely behind.

"Alice had a vision earlier today. The Volturi have become aware that Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee have travelled to Isle Esme. They appear to have decided to go after them. The problem is Alice can't see anything that happens next. With Jacob and Renesmee there she is unable to see anything. We are trying to warn them now, but we felt you would want to know and have a say in what we do"

Sam's eyes narrowed. "How many of the Volturi could Alice see planning to go?"

Jasper stepped forward to speak. "Her visions are subjective, but from the flashes she could see it looked like Aro, Marcus and Caius planned to take the bulk of the guard leaving only the wives and a handful of others behind"

The pack started to bicker and talk over each other. Paul seemed as eager as Emmett to rush into battle, but the rest of the pack seemed to be a little more cautious over rushing into anything.

Sam couldn't think for the noise and shouted over everyone else. "Quiet! Please!"

Carlisle marvelled as the pack seemed to quieten almost instantly.

"I think that we should wait to see if we are able to get in contact with them. They are doing their best to make travel plans and there is a possibility that they could hop on a plane before the Volturi get close. If we are unable to get in touch or make the alternative travel arrangements then I am prepared to travel to the island to try to save my family. If it came down to that choice would we have the support of the pack?"

Sam thought long and hard.

"Given how many of the Volturi are going I assume that even if the pack and your family stood side by side it wouldn't be a very even fight." Sam asked warily.

"That's right we wouldn't know if Bella was captured or not. Without her shield we would be at a disadvantage especially if Alec and Jane are there. That said I would still rather try to help them otherwise they face certain capture. Aro is very interested in Edward and Bella's talents. I think he would also like very much to study Renesmee in great detail. I don't however think he'd have any plans to keep Jacob so I fear very much for his safety" replied Carlisle.

Carlisle could see the aggravation in the eyes of the pack.

"I'm sorry to have put it so bluntly, but with or without you my family plans to do everything we can to save all of them. We would be very grateful for your help."

Sam narrowed his eyes at Carlisle. "If that had to happen you can count on us. Jacob is one of us and we don't turn our backs on our pack. We also have a very strong tie to Renesmee. When a pack member imprints on someone the bond isn't just with that individual, the whole pack feels it."

After discussing practicalities and agreeing to keep the pack well informed Carlisle, Emmett and Jasper headed back home eager to find out if Alice and the others had any luck.


	6. Tribal abilities and dangers forseen

**Chapter 6 – Tribal abilities and danger forseen**

Edward and Bella were sat side by side watching on as Renesmee and Tawémake played happily.

Kaure and the other women had been telling them more about the history of their tribe. They sat and watched on as they demonstrated their shape shifting capabilities.

They asked Edward and Bella to stand back to back in the centre of a circle of 8 of the tribeswomen.

"First we'll shift based on your greatest desire." said Kaure.

Edward suddenly found himself staring at 4 Bella's, whilst Belle found herself staring at 4 Edwards.

"Fascinating" they both said at the same time.

"Wow! I find having one of you a pleasure, but four Edward's are too much for me to handle." Bella teased.

Edward shook his head. "I have four of you"

They each turned around to see what the other could see, but the tribeswomen changed appearance based on who was looking.

The tribeswomen all turned away and allowed Edward and Bella to relax for a moment.

"Now we'll demonstrate a shift based on your greatest fear" said Kaure.

Edward and Bella stood back to back again and prepared themselves for what might happen.

Suddenly they grabbed on to each other as they were surrounded by Aro, Marcus, Caius and some more of the Volturi guard.

"Enough" screamed Bella

Almost instantly the tribeswomen shifted back into themselves.

"That... was... so realistic" panted Bella

Kaure stepped forward and placed a hand on Bella's shoulder. "I'm sorry if we frightened you. We just wanted to show you what we were capable of"

Jacob who had been sat watching with great interest stood up. "That is so cool. Would you like to see what I phase into?"

Kaure smiled and nodded

Jacob turned to Renesmee and gave her a wink. He jumped into the air and phased into his wolf form.

"So big" commented Kaure, who was admiring how large the wolf was. She gently stroked his fur and patted him on the head.

Jacob rolled his eyes and stuck out his tongue, he suddenly bounded off behind a shack, only to appear a few minute later wearing nothing but a pair of black shorts, which he had tied round his leg as a spare.

"So how about showing us what this MngWa looks like" he goaded.

Kaure turned to her fellow tribeswomen and grinned.

"Very well"

Suddenly they were surrounded by the MngWa's. They were simply magnificent to look at. Although nowhere near as large as Jacob's wolf form, they were certainly fierce looking. Their fur was a dark silvery grey, with darker grey stripes. They had razor sharp teeth and moved almost silently.

As Edward, Bella and Jacob looked on with shocked expressions the women shifted back.

"Wow, the MngWa is such a beautiful creature, so majestic and stunning" commented Bella.

Edward simply nodded, knowing that any words he could add would not do the vision any justice.

Renesmee suddenly piped up "Pretty kitties" and the whole crowd erupted with laughter.

Everyone sat back down and relaxed for a while and shared various stories. Suddenly Edward's phone rang.

"Hi Alice" he said

Edward listened intently and his face contorted with fear.

"Please keep us informed, I will make sure I keep my phone with me at all times" he said then put the phone back in his pocket.

"Edward? What is it you look like you've just been told your favourite pet has been run over by a bus or something" joke Jacob.

Bella shushed him and turned to her husband. "What's wrong, Is everyone okay? Did Alice have a vision, please speak to me"

Edward stood up and scooped Renesmee into a big cuddle before sitting back down next to Bella.

"Alice saw them... She saw the Volturi find out that we are at Isle Esme... She saw them decide to come here to get us to join them. She knows that the 3 brothers plus Jane, Alec, Demitri and Felix would be amongst them, but she can't see what will happen once they get here" Edward said

Bella couldn't believe what she was hearing. She flung her arms around Edward and Renesmee and held then both tightly.

"But, we'll be no match for them. My shield will only block their mind based powers, but there numbers greatly outweigh us at least 2 to 1. What are we going to do? I don't want to go with them and I don't want them to get their hands on Renesmee".

Jacob growled. "I'll help take a few of those leeches out"

Edward looked at Jacob and knew that he'd do everything he could to protect them, but he knew it would not be enough.

"That's really great Jacob, but there are just too many of them. Alice and the others are trying to sort out travel arrangements for us, but they don't know if they can get it arranged in time. Her current visions indicate that the Volturi will be here within 3 days."

Kaure and the others had been listening on with great interest. They had quietly conferred and unanimously agreed to offer their assistance.

Kaure stepped forward and spoke directly to Edward and Bella. "After everything we've shown you and shared with you today, do you not think that we will be of some help."

Edward suddenly felt his fear dissipating.

"You mean it? You would be willing to help us?" he asked.

Kaure nodded.

"Please, consider us your friends. Besides, I overheard you mentioning the members of the Volturi that you know will be coming and I heard you say Felix. He and I have some unfinished business" she said solemnly.

Edward shared every detail of Alice's vision to Kaure and the other tribeswomen. He then went into as much detail as he could about the Volturi and each of the various gifts they had, paying particular attention to Jane and Alec's gifts.

Bella scanned the crowd of people in front of them and she felt anxious.

"Are you sure you wish to help us? The Volturi are very dangerous and I would hate to think of them harming any of you, just because you tried to protect us."

Kaure moved over to sit beside Bella and placed an arm around her shoulder. "Of course we wish to help you. The Volturi and what they stand for is the very thing that my tribe has battled against for decades. With our abilities and the bloodstones they will be no match for us"

Bella met Edward's gaze and lowered her shield.

'Do you think that they could be any match for the Volturi?'

Edward shrugged his shoulders. As he sat facing the possibility of capture by the Volturi, he would gladly sacrifice himself if they let Bella and Renesmee go, but he knew that this was not a deal that Aro would consider. He wanted all of them.

He contemplated Kaure and her confidence at being able to take down the Volturi and whilst he felt it so very hard to believe, he couldn't find it in himself not to have hope.


	7. Welcome distractions

**Chapter 7 – Welcome distractions**

Alice could not tell them how long it would take for the Volturi would arrive, but she knew only that it would be soon. She told Edward that they had been trying to arrange them safe transport away, but with no success. All of the traditional transport avenues were being monitored by the Volturi and every time she made a decision on a possible route she got an image of Aro gloating of his new acquisitions.

After many conversations Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee agreed to go back to the island and spend some quality time together, whilst Kaure and her people would monitor the airport and other transport avenues for signs of the Volturi's arrival.

Once they arrived back on the island Bella began pacing the living room, whilst Edward spoke on the phone with Carlisle. Jacob was outside playing with Renesmee on the beach.

After Edward finished speaking to Carlisle, he updated Bella on what he had learned. Carlisle had been speaking to Sam and the pack and they have all agreed that Cullens and the pack would travel out to Isle Esme to stand against Aro and the Volturi. Travel arrangements were taking some time, but they were doing their best to speed things along.

Bella sighed in frustration. Edward made his way over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"Relax" he pleaded.

He watched as Bella's face filled with anguish, she lowered her shield and allowed him to see the frantic thoughts filling her mind.

Edward sighed. How typical of Bella that all of her thoughts were of Edward and Renesmee's safety and not her own. She was even more concerned over Jacob's safety; this truly bothered Edward, but now was not the time to get into it.

"Aro and his brothers obviously want us to join them, so they will want us alive, so we and more importantly Rensemee will be relatively safe" he murmured into her ear.

Bella shook her head wildly.

"I don't want to be around them, I cannot stand what they are and I would rather not exist than be one of Aro's possessions." she groaned worriedly.

Bella nuzzled her head into his shoulder and tried not to worry too much.

"If they get to us and Kaure and the others can't help, then I think you and I should make a stand. If nothing else we can delay Aro and the others so that Jacob can flee with Renesmee."

Edward sighed, the thought of being parted from his daughter filled him with dread, but he knew it made sense. He nodded his head towards Bella and nodded his head in agreement.

"If it looks like we can't win, then we will do all that is in our power to ensure that Renesmee is safe, even if that means sending her away with Jacob."

Edward and Bella stood in an embrace, whilst listing to the sound of Jacob and Renesmee's laughter.

"You know... I am almost glad that we brought the mutt with us" teased Edward, hoping to lighten the tense mood.

Usually Bella would complain of his use of the word mutt, but she could understand what Edward was trying to do, so she just rolled her eyes and chuckled.

Over the next few hours Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee enjoyed the island and did their best to forget the upcoming danger that they faced.

Once it got late Bella settled Renesmee for the night and stood watching her daughter as she slept peacefully, she lifted her daughters hand to her cheek and was relieved to only see relayed images of her playing with Tawémake and Jacob, there seemed to be no signs of distress.

As she watched her daughter for a little while longer her dead heart grew heavy with sadness.

The thought of being separated, or losing her daughter was too much to contemplate.

Bella was unaware of how long she had been standing there, but she felt the familiar hands of Edward on her shoulders.

"Come on love, she's fine. I called Alice and she can definitely see that we are safe until at least tomorrow" Edward said gently.

Bella battled with herself, but eventually agreed to follow Edward downstairs. Jacob was sat on the couch and she could see that he was deep in thought.

"I don't like this, I don't like it at all" he moaned. His pleading eyes bore into Bella's.

"I can't let anything happen to her" he said

Bella nodded her head in agreement and Edward patted Jacob on the shoulder.

"Jacob, Renesmee is our world. She's our reason for living. Bella and I have talked about this and have agreed that whatever happens we cannot let Aro and the Volturi get our daughter"

Edward paused for a moment and held his hand out for Bella to take. He didn't like the idea of anything happening to Bella either, but he had to agree that Renesmee was the main priority.

"If things get to a point, where we cannot stop Aro and his brothers... If it looks like our capture is unavoidable, we want you to take Renesmee and run. We'll do all we can to cause a distraction. We still have the fake documents that Bella arranged with J Jenks; in fact they're with the rest of our travel documents. So please whatever happens to us... Please make sure you get our daughter away safely"

Bella sank her head into Edwards's chest.

"Please Jake, promise us... make sure that she is safe." she pleaded

Jacob slumped back into the couch watching Edward and Bella. He could see how desperate they were and how worried they were.

"I don't like the idea of running away, but I promise... if that is the only way to keep Renesmee safe then I will do it. After all she's our number one priority" he agreed.

Jacob let his mind wander and he replayed some of the day's events.

"I have to say though. I do have faith in Kaure and her people. My tribe, we are something quite special, but her tribe is off the scale. I believe her when she says that they'll be able to put up a good fight" Jacob said with a hint of hope in his tone.

Edward and Bella nodded.

"I hope you're right Jacob, I really do, but we have to prepare for the worst case scenario." Bella replied.

After some lengthy discussions over what needed to happen, should Kaure and her people fail to help, Edward and Bella bid Jacob goodnight.

Edward even allowed Jacob to sleep on the floor in Renesmee's room, to make sure she was safe. Normally he wouldn't agree to such a thing, but he sensed that Jacob needed to be close and it did give him and Bella a sense of relief.

As Jacob and Renesmee slept soundly, Edward and Bella took a tip in the sea. What started off as an innocent swim, soon heated up and before long they found themselves recreating scenes from their honeymoon, only Edward didn't need to hold back as Bella was no longer breakable.

The threat of their capture or even death meant that they were both so much more eager to enjoy each other's bodies. They allowed their instincts to rule them and enjoyed every last second of their carnal pleasures.

It was early morning when they returned to the house. They shared a shower and freshened up, before preparing breakfast for Jacob and Renesmee.

Jacob and Renesmee were descending the stairs when Edward's phone rang.

"Carlisle" Edward said after flipping the phone open.

Bella watched on and listened anxiously to get an idea of what was going on. Edward relayed the information to everyone that Carlisle, the rest of the Cullens and the pack were all on their way. They had chartered a private plane and had secured a high speed yacht to complete the rest of the journey; their estimated time of arrival would be in around 30 hours.

"Maybe they'll get here in time" Jacob suggested optimistically.

Edward was about to nod in agreement when he heard the engines of a boat approaching. He sped out to the boat launch and looked out into the sea. He was relieved to see that it was Kaure's boat approaching.


	8. Out of time and confrontation

**Chapter 8 – Out of time and confrontation**

As Kaure got off her boat, she secured the line and rushed over to Edward and the others.

"We've just received word that the Volturi are here on the mainland and are arranging a boat to come to the island. We must get you back to the mainland straight away, where we can protect you" she spoke with urgency.

Edward and Bella rushed to gather Jacob and Renesmee and boarded Kaure's boat. As they reached the mainland they were greeted by Pandora, who had arranged transport to take them to the compound as quickly as possible.

"The Volturi are on their way to Isle Esme at the moment. Gustavo and a few others have gone out in a fishing boat, in order to keep an eye on their movements"

Bella grabbed Renesmee and cuddled her tightly.

"Oh Edward" she said, whilst kissing Renesmee's forehead.

"If they have Demetri with them, it will not take them very long to find us" she said in a strained voice.

Kaure moved over to Bella and placed her arm around her shoulder.

"Please Bella, do not worry, I promise you that they will not get past us, they are simply no match for me or my people" Kaure promised.

Over the next hour or so Kaure and the tribeswomen discussed strategies.

It was agreed that Renesmee and Tawémake would be well hidden and guarded by two of the tribeswomen who could shape-shift. Jacob would assist with the fighting, but would help take the children to safety if required.

Once Edward and Bella kissed Renesmee and told her that they loved her, she went with Tawémake and their guards and headed deeper into the compound.

"They will be fine" Kaure said as she saw the anguish on Bella and Edwards face

Edward reached Carlisle by phone and told him that Aro and his brothers were at Isle Esme, but that he, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee were on the mainland with Kaure and her tribe. Carlisle was confused over why they were with Kaure, but Edward had no time to explain it further as suddenly people around him were talking fast and changing positions so that he, Bella and Jacob were behind them.

"I'll call you back later" he promised Carlisle, before snapping the phone shut.

He stood up and moved so he was at the side of Bella and Jacob. He placed his arm around Bella's shoulder and looked to see what was happening.

"There are four vampires approaching, I am guessing they are part of the Volturi" Kaure informed him.

Edward concentrated on the four figures approaching.

"That's Jane, Alec, Demetri and..." he said, before being interrupted by Kaure, who finished his sentence in a harsh voice

"... Felix" she sneered.

Edward and Bella shot her a strained look, but Kaure was too focused on Felix to notice.

Bella lowered her shield long enough to communicate with Edward. "Do you think she'll be able to stop herself from lunging at Felix? If we're to have any chance in a battle with the Volturi, we will need the element of surprise!"

He simply shrugged his shoulders and shook his head.

Once Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix were just in front of Kaure and the tribeswomen, who were protecting Edward, Bella and Jacob they stopped.

Jane took a small step forward and studied the strange sight in front of her.

"Seriously, do you think a shape shifting mongrel and a group of humans will protect you" she snapped at Edward and Bella.

Jacob shook his head in disgust. "I could take you any day bloodsucker" he snarled.

Jane laughed

"Jacob is right, you are no threat here" insisted Kaure

Jane looked Kaure up and down, then turned to her companions

"Well look here boys, Edward and Bella have found themselves a new bodyguard. It's a pity all that they could muster is a feisty human and her female friends. Perhaps Aro will let us have a few snacks whilst we're here, though I don't think I'll be partaking in the dog, he smells terrible" she snickered at her own words.

Jane suddenly grinned and narrowed her eyes at Jacob and Kaure, attempting to user her powers against them, but nothing happened. She turned to Bella and growled.

"Still using your shield I see" she snapped, annoyed that Bella had spoiled her fun.

Bella shrug her shoulders and smiled sweetly at Jane. Bella was confused though. Her shield only covered herself and Edward at the moment as she hadn't been able to cover the others yet, so she isn't sure why Jane's powers didn't work against Kaure and Jacob. She wasn't about to let Jane know that though.

"Hmmm I can see why Aro is keen to acquire you. I think it will be so much fun, practicing with you, who knows I may be able to cause you some pain along the way." mused Jane

Kaure took a step closer to Jane and shook her head.

"So is that your magical power? The ability to give someone the evil eye!" she teased.

Jane growled.

"Just you be thankful that Bella here is protecting you, my powers could cause you so much pain" she warned not happy that this human was making a fool of her.

"My masters will be very interested in you and your friends. Humans are not supposed to know about our kind. I suggest that you step aside and let us get what we came here for. Then perhaps I can at least promise to make your death quick"

Kaure shook her head and hissed."I don't think so. Why don't you run back to your masters and tell them that you can't have what you want"

Jane was enraged, who the hell was this insignificant human to be squaring up to her like this?

Edward was surprised at the exchange between Kaure and Jane. He could see that Kaure had really angered Jane. He stepped in try to diffuse the situation.

"So Jane, I take it you aren't here for a social call" he enquired.

Jane looked at him, rolled her eyes and clapped her hands, slowly and loudly.

"Well done captain obvious!" she replied sardonically.

Alec, Demetri and Felix all shared laughter in the background, joining in with the mock clapping.

Jane stopped her clapping and put her hand up in the air to signal the others to stop.

"Aro, Marcus and Caius have spent a great deal of time, effort and money to make a trip out here. They want you, Bella and Renesmee to come back to Volterra and join us. In fact they are not prepared to return without you"

Jane scanned the area for signs of Renesmee and was intrigued by her obvious absence.

"Speaking of which, where is the little brat anyway"

Bella let out a guttural snarl and locked eyes with Jane.

"All that you need to know is that she is safe and you won't get anywhere near her" she promised.

Kaure nodded in agreement with Bella.

"That's right. You are not going to lay one hand on that child"

Felix groaned in the background.

"I see you still have the same big mouth Kaure" he snapped.

Several eyes suddenly flitted to Felix, then back to Kaure.

"I see that you are still as self centred as ever" she retorted.

Felix snarled.

"I am so glad that your sister didn't share your personality. I don't think I could have enjoyed bedding your sister if she was cursed with an attitude like yours"

Kaure took a step towards Felix, but Jacob held on to her upper arm to stop her.

"Where is Yula anyway? I could do with a bit of fun whilst I am here. It's been far too long since I was looked after" he goaded her.

Kaure shook her arm free of Jacob and rushed to Felix. She drew back her hand and slapped him across the face. She went to do it a second time, but he held on to her hand to stop her.

"Not a chance, you don't get to do that a second time, you stupid bitch" he snapped.

Felix flexed his jaw and gently rubbed his cheek, it was throbbing.

"How the hell did you manage to cause me pain" he demanded to know.

Kaure shrugged her shoulders and wriggled out of his grasp. She then backed up till she was level with Jacob again.

"Perhaps it's down to the fact that I have been wanting, no needing, to do that for such a long time. Ever since you left Yula without as much as a goodbye, unfortunately she seemed to really care for you and you just disappeared, leaving her desolate."

Felix rolled his eyes and huffed.

"Is that why she is hiding, because I didn't say goodbye? Look she was great in the sack, but I never promised her a long term relationship or anything, besides my... lifestyle... makes it difficult to settle down" he joked.

Jane, Demitri and Alec all shared a laugh. Kaure however was unamused.

"Oh this is priceless, Felix had a fling with a human. So I see that Edward isn't the only vampire who couldn't just mate within his own species. Seriously Felix what were you thinking" she cackled.

Felix was about to answer when Jane raised her hand in front of his face and shook her head.

"It was a rhetorical question dumb ass"

Demitri jabbed Felix in the arm and asked "So what was it like bedding a human, did you have to be all soft and gentle?"

Felix noticed Kaure out of the corner of his eye; her face was turning red with rage.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he spat

Felix ran his hand through his hair.

"Look if Yula is pissed off with me then tell her to come talk to me, she shouldn't let her uptight sister fight her battles for her!"

Kaure had heard enough, she readied herself to attack, but was held back by Jacob and Edward.

"She's dead you bastard" she yelled out in anguish.

Felix was taken by surprise by this information.

"How?... When?... What happened?" he asked.

Kaure's whole body shook with anger, part of her wanted to shift into a MngWa right now and take Felix out, but she needed to hide her capability in case it is needed during a proper fight.

Felix was feeling quite bad. As much as he enjoyed goading Kaure, he did actually have feelings for Yula. He wanted to say something, do something, but couldn't with Jane, Alec and Demitri present.

Acting quickly in an attempt to avoid any potential problems from Jane and the others, he shrugged his shoulders and let out an over dramatic sigh.

"Oh well, I will have to look for my fun elsewhere then"

He hoped that had appeared suitably indifferent, the amount of flack this could gain him from Aro and his brothers was not a prospect he savoured.

His mind however was filled with sadness and questions he wished he could ask Kaure.

Edward picked up on Felix's thoughts and took the opportunity to speak to Kaure.

"Please try not to pay too much attention to the words that Felix is using. His words may be hurtful, but his thoughts tell me that he is actually upset that your sister has died and he cared for her a lot more than he's letting on"

Kaure let Edwards words sink in and worked at calming herself down. This wasn't to appropriate time, but she hoped to get a chance to find out from Edward more of what he picked up from Felix's thoughts.

She took the chance to glance over at Felix and could see that he looked a little upset. Felix met her gaze and he looked away as quickly as he could, but Kaure could sense that his mind was in turmoil.

She was soon snapped out of her thoughts when Jane became tired of all this distraction going on.

"Enough" she yelled, causing everyone to go quiet and all eyes to fall on her.

She looked directly at Edward and Bella and sighed, she was convinced that they would be nothing but difficult when they came back to Volterra, but she knew better than to challenge Aro and his brothers.

"Edward and Bella you have two hours to return to Isle Esme, with the brat. Aro and his brothers will then make suitable travel arrangements to take you back to Volterra with us and get you settled into your new home. My masters hate to be kept waiting, so make sure you get back in plenty of time." she demanded.

"If we don't come to Isle Esme?" asked Edward.

"Then we'll come and take you by force, but be warned. If we have to do that then we will show no mercy to your... friends here. In fact, we will take great pleasure in ending their miserable little lives slowly and painfully and we will make you and your brat watch every last second of it" she spoke in an icy tone.

Jane turned around and clicked her fingers, expecting Alec, Demitri and Felix to follow on behind.

As they walked away she shouted "Remember! You have two hours!! Or else we come and get you"

Seconds later the four of them had disappeared and Edward, Bella and Jacob were surrounded by Kaure and the tribeswomen, who were all talking to each other and planning their next move.


	9. Reassurances and disappointment

**Chapter 9 – Reassurances and disappointment**

As several of the tribeswomen discussed strategies, Kaure headed over to Edward, Bella and Jacob to see how they were doing.

"Well that went well" Jacob said in a mocking tone.

Edward and Bella rolled their eyes.

Edward focused on Kaure.

"Are you okay" he asked.

Edward wished that he could read her mind, but she was totally silent to him.

"I know Felix said many hurtful things, but trust me, I read his mind. Many of his words were nothing more than an attempt to share his true feelings from Jane, Alec and Demitri. No amount of teasing from them would compare to the potential fallout from Aro and his brothers".

Kaure nodded her head and sighed.

"What did his mind say" she asked.

Edward moved towards her and placed his hand on her shoulder.

"He felt true sorrow that Yula had died and wanted to ask you whether she had suffered, but his pride got the better of him so he decided to act like he didn't care instead".

Kaure took solace in Edward's words, somehow knowing that Felix did have feelings for her sister made a difference. She found herself thinking of Tawémake and wondered what Felix would make of her, not that she planned to let him get anywhere near her.

Bella interrupted her thoughts by calling out her name.

"Kaure... Do you mind if I ask a question?" she asked.

Kaure shook her head and raised her hand to encourage her to proceed.

"Back on the island, you joked that Edward wasn't the only Centenarian. Was your sister like you? I mean if she was like you, would she not have survived the birth more easily" Bella asked.

Bella looked at Kaure and looked out for a reaction. She thought that she saw Kaure's eyes narrow.

".. I'm sorry if the question was insensitive, I am just trying to ……"

Kaure raised her hand up in the air and cut Bella off mid sentence.

"The question was fine, don't worry. For a long time Yula was just like myself and the others who choose to shape shift, in fact she was one of the most experienced. It was about 2 years before she met Felix that she decided to stop shifting. Once she had stopped shifting, she started to age again, albeit a little slower than most."

Kaure closed her eyes as a vision of her sister filled her mind.

"The thing is, whilst we shape-shift, we are barren. We are unable to carry a child. Yula's desire to be a mother far outweighed her desire to exist. The fact that she fell for a vampire was just like my sister, she always seemed drawn to the wrong type. I guess it was a big part of who she was. The ability to see good in everyone, even when no-one else can."

Bella felt a surge of pity for Kaure.

"She sounds like such a wonderful person, I would have loved to meet her." She replied.

After an uneasy silence Kaure decided it was time to focus.

She gathered her fellow tribeswomen together in order to make preparations for the confrontation, which was now certain to happen.

Edward, Bella and Jacob joined in the discussions and marvelled at how confident Kaure and the others sounded.

"They seem so sure of themselves." said Bella to Edward, after dropping her shield.

Edward leaned into her and spoke softly in her ear "Let's hope that they have good reasons for their confidence."

Once Kaure convinced them that they knew what they need to do Edward, Bella and Jacob bid farewell and went to spend some time with Renesmee, before she was hidden away for her own safety.

**Isle Esme**

Aro, Marcus and Caius sat in the living room of Carlisle and Esme's home on the island. They were surrounded by members of their guard, whilst other members were outside exploring the island.

"How quaint" mused Aro enthusiastically whilst taking in all the room had to offer them in way of comfort.

Marcus and Caius shared a bemused look.

"If you say so, brother" replied Caius

Whilst his brother Marcus sighed.

"I never could understand Carlisle's fascination with appearing so human. Each to their own tastes, I guess"

Aro shook his head and chuckled at his brothers.

"You two are no fun. This place is obviously very special to Carlisle and Esme and once we've taken Edward, Bella and Renesmee home with us, it still will be, only for different reasons" he joked.

His brothers weren't sure how to respond to that so decided not to. The three brothers sat in silence until they sensed a commotion outside.

Caius waved a nearby member of the guard to go and find out was happening. The guardsman ran outside and returned shortly after.

"Masters, Jane, Alec, Dmitri and Felix are returning." He said.

Aro stood up from his seat and rubbed his hands together.

"They don't have anyone else with them master" said the guardsman with an unsteady voice.

Aro turned to his brothers and let out a guttural snarl.

"Come my brothers, let us find out why Jane and the others return empty handed"

He stormed outside, followed by his brothers to confront Jane.

"Where are my new acquisitions" Aro demanded.

Jane bowed her head and dropped her eyes to the ground.

"Forgive us master. Edward, Bella and Jacob were surrounded by others. They had hidden their child somewhere and showed no signs of wanting to come. I advised them that they had 2 hours to come here voluntarily, or that we would go and get them" she said.

Aro was not pleased.

"Who were these 'others' that they were surrounded by." He demanded.

Felix stepped forward and ignored the icy glare that Jane gave him.

"They're just a human tribe that live on the mainland. They are nothing that we can't handle. Bella was using her shield to block Jane and Alec's powers and even with our obvious advantage, there were enough there to cause slow us down. We didn't want Edward, Bella and Renesmee fleeing" Felix said.

Aro looked to his brothers and sighed.

"Very well, we will give them the two hours and if they do not return we will all go and get them. Those humans can be our pre-flight snack" he mused.

Jane, Alec, Demetri and Felix busied themselves with the rest of the guard and made plans for taking Edward, Bella and Renesmee by force. They also discussed how to divvy up the tribe between them all.

Felix joined in, but internally he was hoping to at least find out more about Yula's death, before Kaure was dispatched.

"I want Kaure" he snarled.

Jane shot him a suspicious look, but decided to let it go.

"She's fair game, if you get to her first you can have her, if not she's mine."

Felix nodded his head and shrugged his shoulders "Fair enough" he responded and decided to make reaching Kaure his top priority.

Aro paced the living room, whilst his brothers took a more relaxed approach and sat back on the sofas.

"Relax brother" ordered Marcus.

He watched on as Aro slowed his pace.

"Whatever happens you get your new acquisitions. If they come willingly then fair enough, if not then we get to have some fun, before we travel back. It's a win-win situation" mused Caius.


	10. Tribal preparations and Volturi approach

**Chapter 10 – Tribal preparations and Volturi's approach.**

**The Tribal Compound**

As time drew by the tension grew amongst Edward, Bella and Jacob. Kaure and the others seemed remarkably more relaxed.

"Please stop worrying" begged Kaure.

Bella looked to Edward and dropped her shield.

"They seem so confident, but I can't help but be worried."

Edward hugged his wife's shoulders.

"Knowing Aro and the others, they will be punctual so we have very little time left before they are due to arrive. If you don't mind Bella, Jacob and i would like to spend some time with Renesmee, before she has to go into hiding with Tawémake" he spoke directly to Kaure.

Kaure just nodded her head and watched as Edward, Bella and Jacob went to spend time with Renesmee.

She turned to her fellow tribeswomen and shook her head.

"They really do not realise how easy this will be for us" she commented.

Her sisters nodded their head in agreement and sighed.

"Kaure, you have to realise that Edward has spent many many years fearing the Volturi. They have ruled their kind through fear and unfair power. It is not surprising that he can't comprehend them being defeated, especially with the great ease that you have promised" Athena said gently.

Kaure knew Athena was right. She has no doubt in her mind that the Volturi would be no match for them, but wished she could erase the doubt that filled Edward, Bella and Jacobs minds. She smiled as she thought fondly of Renesmee, her trust had been so easy and she loved how Tawémake and Renesmee had bonded so well.

Kaure, Athena and the others spent time discussing strategies and contingency plans and prepared themselves for the upcoming battle.

It was decided that Renesmee and Tawémake would be protected by 3 of the tribeswomen and would be kept in the background, but not too far away so that they could be seen. The risk of part of the Volturi sneaking away from the battle and grabbing them, was too real.

Kaure left it as long as she could, but eventually she had to seek out Edward, Bella and Jacob and fill them in on the battle plans.

When she found then she observed from afar the scene before her. Renesmee was sat on Bella's knee and Edward was sat beside them with his arm on Bella's shoulder and his other hand stroking Renesmee's cheek. Jacob stayed close but allowed Bella and Edward their moment.

Kaure made her way to Tawémake who was sat nearby and knelt down beside her.

"Everything will be fine" she assured Tawémake

"I know" she replied and flung her arms around Kaure.

Edward, Bella and Jacob noticed Kaure's presence and shared a worried glance between each other.

"Is it time?" they asked in unison

Kaure nodded her head in affirmation. She explained the plans for where Renesmee and Tawémake would be. Bella was initially hesitant, but on closer discussion agreed that having them close enough to see would be better in the long run.

Edward and Bella showered Renesmee with kisses.

Bella knelt down in front of her daughter and lightly cupped her face.

"You know that no matter what happens Daddy and I love you, don't you baby" she asked in a strained voice.

Renesmee nodded her head and put her hand out for Edward to take.

"I know that momma, but nothing will happen. Kaure and her tribe are going to protect us and stop the Volturi from ever hurting us again" Renesmee said with clear conviction in her voice.

Edward and Bella shared a strained look, but quickly turned back to Renesmee and just nodded.

After Renesmee shared a big hug from Jacob she went with Kaure and Tawémake to their hiding place.

Bella turned to Jacob as soon as Renesmee was out of sight.

"Remember the plan Jacob, if things get to a point where all hope is lost, make sure that you take Renesmee and run."

Bella turned to Edward who pulled an envelope from his back pocket.

"This has all the documentation you would need" he said.

Edward placed it in Jacob's hand and stared into Jacob's eyes. He could hear the many emotions running through Jacob's mind and wanted to comfort him somehow, but didn't know what to say.

He tapped Jacob on the shoulder and nodded. "I know.." was all he could say.

He held out his hand for Bella to take and the three of them made their way to the others.

As they reached the others Edward turned back to Jacob.

"Make sure you put that envelope somewhere that is safe and easy to reach" he demanded.

Jacob just nodded and felt his heart sink at the thought of having to use it. Jacob was not the praying kind, but he took a moment to pray to whatever God would listen to keep Renesmee and his friends safe.

**The Volturi**

Once it became apparent that Edward, Bella and Renesmee were not going to come willingly Aro became increasingly enraged.

"How dare they defy us?" he snarled to his brothers.

Caius agreed with his brother.

"They are fools dear brother, fools, but we'll show them won't we" he added.

Marus sighed with an air of indifference, but nodded in agreement with his brothers.

"Very well let us get on with it then" he snapped.

Within minutes Aro, his brothers and the guard made their way to the boat and set off to the mainland.

As the mainland closed in Aro was beyond riled up. He had genuinely believed that Edward and Bella would know better than to cross him. They should have come willingly, now he'll have to punish them by killing all those trying to protect them and this would delay their happy union to his family.

They docked at the mainland and began their journey to the tribal compound.

"We must teach Edward and Bella a lesson in doing as they are told" Aro demanded.

Marcus flashed his brother a look and shook his head, but Caius agreed wholeheartedly.

"If Jane and the others are accurate then the compound is quite closed off and secluded. I am sure Edward and Bella will think twice of refusing your future requests if we kill some or all of those that are trying to protect them. Perhaps if we target that shape shifting wolf they seem so keen on then we'll not need to harm any others" Caius mused.

Aro stroked his chin and thought hard.

"Hmmm I think we will start with the wolf and make his death painful, but i think a true lesson will be seeing everyone who is with them massacred. They'll surely avoid questioning my authority then. We must also make sure that the child Renesmee sees everything too, so she knows from an early age who is in charge of her"

The brothers were all in agreement as they neared the entrance to the compound.

Aro clapped his hands and addressed his brothers and the rest of the guard.

"Let's get this over and done with. Our first target is the shape shifting wolf, he'll most likely be close to Edward and Bella. Once we've dispatched with him, Edward, Bella and the child, Renesmee are sure to surrender. Once we have them in our grasps then I give you a free pass to feast on everyone within this compound"

Once Aro finished there was a hubbub of voices as the guard became excited with the unexpected chance to feast.

"I trust I do not need to remind you all that we must be quick." he warned.

Aro more than wanted these inconsequential humans to die for trying to stop him from getting to what he wanted, but he also wanted to minimise their exposure.

After others responded in a chorus of agreement Aro smiled and put his arms up.

"Very well then, lets go"

Within moments he and the others were all within the compound. He ordered two of the guard to man the exit to prevent anyone escaping and then led the way to find Edward, Bella and Renesmee. He grinned inwardly at the possibilities once they joined his guard.

**Cullens and Pack members**

The Cullens and the Pack had been travelling for many hours. They were now on a speedboat making their way to Isle Esme as quick as they could. Most of the pack were having a nap, but Sam, Seth and Embry were still wide awake and sat talking to Alice, Jasper and Emmett.

All of a sudden Alice's eyes glazed over and she gasped. Jasper immediately placed a reassuring arm over his wife's shoulders.

"What is it? What did you see" he asked gently.

Alice took a few breaths to steady herself.

"It's Aro and his brothers. They have made the decision to go after Edward and Bella" Alice began.

She closed her eyes and concentrated further on the vision.

"It seems that they gave Edward and Bella time to return to the island with Renesmee, but it seems that the time is running out. Aro is very angry at their refusal to do as they are told and he had given the command to return to the mainland and get them by force"

Sam interrupted...

"Any mention of Jacob" he asked

Alice shook her head and Jasper raised his hand.

"Please let her finish" he asked

Sam nodded his head..

"Go on darling" Jasper said in a reassuring tone.

Alice gripped his hand that was on her shoulder.

"Aro and the others didn't waste anytime returning to the mainland, they'll be there long before we are" she said dejectedly.

Alice growled as she got more flashes in her vision.

"It seems that Edward, Bella, Jacob and Renesmee are with Kaure and her tribe. Aro has decided to teach them a lesson. He has given orders for his guard to target Jacob first, he wants to make an example of him and ensure that Edward and Bella know that they mean business"

Alice paused to take in the disgusted looks from Sam, Seth and Embry.

"He has then given the rest of the guard free rein on Kaure and her tribe. Once he has Edward, Bella and Renesmee they can feast as long as they don't take too long" she said feeling disgusted.

The room fell silent.

"Damn it!" Roared Emmett and slammed his right fist into his left palm..

"I give Edward and Bella top marks for going to the mainland, Aro's need for secrecy means he wouldn't want to draw any attention to them, but it seems it's back fired and there's now a lot of people in danger" he sighed.

Sam was not happy, not happy at all.

"Can you see anything else" he asked

Alice shook her head.

"Aro and the others must be with them right now. Everything has gone blank." she replied dejectedly.

Sam ran his hand through his hair.

"How long before we get there" he asked.

Jasper wasn't sure so went to check with Carlisle. He returned and slumped to a seat

"Carlisle has changed course for the mainland, he is sure that Kaure's tribal compound has a dedicated dock, which we'll head to, but it'll take us up to an hour to get there, depending on how fast we can get this rust bucket to go" Jasper explained.

Everyone in the room felt tense and useless.

Emmett hated the thought of his siblings and niece being in danger.

"Look, perhaps Edward and the others can stall Aro long enough till we get there. The one thing we know for certain is Aro wants Edward, Bella and Renesmee to join them, so he will be in no rush to kill them. Let's not get too dejected here people" Emmett roared.

Everyone reluctantly agreed to try and remain optimistic. Sam set about gathering the pack to fill them in and discuss strategies, whilst Jasper and Emmett headed to see Carlisle to discuss strategies.

Alice meanwhile stayed where she was and tried in vain to get a new vision. Every time she closed her eyes she saw nothing and she hoped against hope that this was just the usual block she got from Jacob and Renesmee and nothing more final.


	11. Confrontation begins

**Chapter 11 – Confrontation begins**

As Aro his brothers and the guard headed further into the compound they were met with the most curious sight.

Edward, Bella and Jacob stood together and were flanked by one woman to their left and three more women to their right.

Aro was the first to speak.

"I am assuming you have a good reason for not being at Isle Esme by the time I requested" he spoke to Edward.

Edward was about to answer when Kaure put her hand up to stop him.

"He didn't come because I told him not to" Kaure replied.

Aro turned to his brothers and let out a riotous laugh.

"Oh brothers, did you hear that, Edward, Bella and Renesmee failed to come to us when requested based on advice from a human" he goaded.

His brothers and various other members of the guard chuckled alongside him.

Kaure sighed, she looked past Aro and scowled directly to Felix and wasn't surprised to see him laughing along with his master.

Aro spotted where Kaure was looking and chuckled.

"It appears you have some unfinished business with one of my guard" he enquired.

Kaure avoided looking at Aro and continued to focus on Felix.

"Oh don't worry, I'll do my best to save Felix till last, he and I can settle our business once we get rid of you, your brothers and the rest of your guard" she retorted.

Aro turned to Marcus and Caius and grimaced.

"Did you hear that dear brothers, Felix and this insolent human have unfinished business and she'll get to him once she's got rid of us"

Marcus sighed and rolled his eyes with indifference, whilst Caius joined his brother in feeling totally bemused by this strange woman's incredulous idea that they were someone they could get rid of so easily.

Kaure called over to Felix.

"You and I have some things to discuss later" she warned

Aro turned to Felix and raised an eyebrow. He had begun to grow tired of this woman and began to speak.

"Enough of all this..."

He stared open mouth as Kaure lifted her hand up and shushed him like a petulant child.

"I'm sorry I wasn't talking to you, I was talking to Felix" she goaded.

Aro turned to Felix and narrowed his eyes.

"Oh I am sorry Felix, you carry on, it's not like we are in a rush or anything"

Felix stepped forward and bowed his head towards Aro.

"Please ignore her master, I am nothing of importance" he said in a strained voice.

Aro shook his head and sighed.

"Just what is your relationship with this woman Felix, for a human she is incredibly annoying" he enquired.

Felix straightened up and looked over towards Kaure.

"I enjoyed the company of her sister a few times when I was out here doing some work for you master. I'm pleased to say that her sister was nothing like her"

Aro raised an eyebrow

"Was" he asked

Kaure was marginally impressed at how quickly Aro picked up on the word was.

"My sister died a few months after Felix left without a word" she said bitterly.

Aro snickered.

"What is it with male vampires and female humans. I see it isn't just Edward here who had a taste for a bit of human" he quipped

Kaure took a step forward and growled.

"Do not dare to sully the memory of my sister" she warned.

Felix tried to get Kaure's attention.

"Why don't you calm down Kaure, you really don't want to anger my master too much" he warned her.

Aro shot Felix a look of surprise.

"How interesting brothers, Felix seems to be sticking up for the human, perhaps he was more fond of her sister than he let on"

Kaure was a little taken aback by Felix trying to warn her to calm down. For the briefest of time she saw the Felix that once made her sister so happy and so complete.

"Felix and my sister were once very close. He may play it down now, but I know that he once cared very deeply with my sister" Kaure summised.

Felix felt several pairs of eyes on him.

"Look you stupid bitch, you sister was nothing more than a bit of fun to me. I got the pleasure I needed from her and left when I was called away, so don't go getting any delusions in that tiny little brain of yours" he snarled.

The comments coming from Felix pierced Kaure's heart, she couldn't bare to hear him dismiss her sister like that, even though deep down she was sure he was merely trying to save face in front of his master.

"You bastard. Only one good thing ever came out of your relationship with my sister" she called out in anguish.

Felix frowned, confused by the statement.

As Kaure thought the urge to cry a small voice distracted everyone.

"Kaure" Tawémake called out before running to her auntie.

Edward and Bella glanced at each other and back to where Tawémake had ran from and were relieved that Renesmee remained well hidden.

Kaure cursed under her breath, she didn't want Tawémake to have been seen like this.

She held onto her niece and kissed her forehead gently.

"Shhh my darling, it's okay, I am okay, please go back to the hut you were in" she pleaded.

Felix stared on in confusion. As did Aro and his brothers.

Suddenly the penny dropped and Aro clapped his hands.

"Oh my" he began.

Aro gazed at Felix and shook his head.

"Could it be that Edward here was a little late to the party when it came to knocking up a human girl."

Both Edward and Bella growled in disgust at Aro's comments.

Felix was too shocked to respond. He couldn't take his eyes from the young girl who was with Kaure. Could it be true? Could he have fathered a daughter with Yula? As he looked closer he gasped as he saw many of Yula's features in this girl.

Tawémake was staring back at Kaure, who has by now noticed how intently Felix was staring. She stood up and pulled Tawémake behind her and scowled at Felix.

She quickly turned around and ordered Tawémake to go back to the hut with Renesmee, she nodded to Athena, who agreed to get her there safely.

As she turned back to Felix she saw the pain and anguish on his face and although she had imagined causing him pain so often over the years, she almost felt sorry for him. She shook the thoughts of sympathy to the back of her mind and sighed.

"Enough of all this delay. Edward, Bella and Renesmee will be staying here with us, so I suggest you all leave" Kaure said with a clear voice.

Caius growled and stepped forward.

"Who the hell are you to tell us to leave and just how do you propose to make us." he demanded.

Kaure smirked and flashed a quick grin to Edward, Bella and Jacob who were all dumbstruck at the turn of events.

She turned back to Caius and stole quick glances at Aro and Marcus.

"Hmmm it seems that you're all a little rusty on your history" she summised.


	12. An old enemy

**Chapter 12 – An old enemy**

Aro and his brothers shared confused glances.

"What do you mean... rusty on our history" enquired Aro.

Kaure crossed her arms and sighed.

"I realise it's been quite a long time since we had active dealings with a group as large as yours, but if I were to say "Guardians of Humanity" would it ring any bells" she asked.

Aro and his brothers shared more confused glances, until Marcus recalled some vague details.

"I have read some old legends about such a group, but that was back when I first became a vampire. Initially they were a feared group. A tribe that could destroy vampires, though the method of how they were destroyed was never clearly recorded. I have to say that I always thought it was based in myth, so i am intrigued as to why you mention that term"

Aro and his brother shared a glance as this was the most animated they had seen their brother in a long time.

Kaure grinned widely and took a theatrical bow.

"Myself and the three tribeswomen you see before you third generation members of the Guardians of Humanity. Whilst your legends would have been based on first generation members, the tribes knowledge and capabilities for destroying your kind has not diminished over time" Kaure explained in a matter of fact tone.

Marcus was most intrigued by this. For a long time he had grown weary of this world. Ever since his wife Didyme was killed by Aro he had longed to end his existence and join her.

"Most interesting" he responded.

Caius shook his head violently.

"Most interesting? Have you lost your mind, this woman claims to be part of an ancient tribe, with the ability to destroy us and you think it's interesting? I smell bullshit" he snarled.

Aro was most surprised by his brothers outburst, whilst his brother had quite the temper, he was usually above the vulgarity of mindless swearing.

"I see, so you are part of some ancient tribe and are able to destroy us." he asked in a mocking tone, quite unwilling to believe this poppycock.

Kaure shook her head and smiled.

"I think we'd much rather show you than tell you" she offered.

Aro was most amused by this turn of events, despite his brother Marcus being so ready to accept this, he was more inclined to side with his brother Caius and assume this was just some sort of ploy to delay the inevitable.

"My memory of the stories of the Guardians of Humanity is very vague, but I am quite sure that it would have taken a lot more than 4 members to dispatch a group of vampires as large as the one I have brought with me." Aro countered.

Kaure turned to Athena and the others and shrugged her shoulders.

"How do you know that there is just the four of us, we could have an army hidden away behind us" she snapped back.

Aro quite admired this human's spunk. He discreetly sniffed the air and did sense a slightly odd smell to her, but couldn't quite place it.

He turned to Edward, Bella and Jacob, who had been remarkably quiet during the proceedings so far.

"So is this what you've put your faith in? A group of women who believe they can take on a large group of vampires and beat them" he asked.

Edward and Bella just sighed and refused to answer, but Jacob let out a growl and shook his head.

"I'm not a betting man, but i would put my money down on Kaure and her friends over you bloodsuckers any day" he quipped.

Aro lifted his hand up to silence everyone.

"I am bored of all this chatter. Edward and Bella I will ask you this only once. Will you willingly come with me and my brothers and join us in Italy" he asked.

Edward placed his arm around Bella and they both nodded to each other.

"No" they both said in unison.

"We refuse to join you Aro, and no matter what you try to do to us, there is no way that you will get your hands on our daughter" Bella added with a snarl.

Aro let out a large sigh.

"Very well, we'll do it the hard way then. We'll be taking the other child too, just for good measure, I am sure young Renesmee will appreciate a young friend"

Kaure turned to her fellow tribeswomen and they shared in her anger at hearing Aro's plan to attempt to take Tawémake with him.

Kaure focused on Aro and took in his appearance. His skin was much paler than Edward and Bella's and his eyes were a crimson red. Not only did his outward appearance differ from Edward and Bella, but he was a much darker person overall. He epitomised the type of Vampire that her tribe had wiped out over the centuries and her distaste for him grew with every passing moment.

"Bella is right. You will not be taking anyone away from here. We did consider allowing you to leave if you agreed to go peacefully and leave our friends home, but as soon as you threatened to take my niece you just made me angry... very angry" Kaure snarled.

Felix was still reeling from the thought he had a daughter with Yula, it was simply beyond his realm of comprehension to take in what Kaure was saying. All the time he had been with Yula he didn't suspect that she was anything other than a simple human girl.

He heard the guttural snarl escaping Aro's lips and knew that this would be bad.


	13. An enemy underestimated

**Chapter 13 – An enemy underestimated.**

Aro turned to two of his guard members who were stood patiently awaiting his command.

"Bring me that shape shifting wolf. I think it's time we use him to make an example to show just how serious we are"

Jacob took a few steps forward and crossed his arms across his chest.

"Just how do you think they'll bring me" he demanded to know.

Jacob shook his head.

"I'm not some lap dog that they can just fetch, I could take them both out without breaking into a sweat"

Aro grinned and turned to Jane.

"Jane dear, would you be so kind"

Jane stepped forward and nodded her head to her master.

"I'll be honoured master" she replied in a saccharine sweet voice.

Bella, whose memory of how badly Edward was affected by Jane's power shouted out to Jacob.

"Jacob No!" she called out.

Jacob turned to her and smiled.

"Relax, what's the worse she can do" he asked

Edward, Jacob and Bella all turned to see that Jane was staring furiously at Jacob. It was quite obvious that she was attempting to use her power against him, but it was not working.

Aro let out a frustrated growl.

Jane stopped her attempts at using her power against Jacob and turned to glare at Bella.

"Still using your shield I see" she accused.

Bella was beyond confused at this as she hadn't time to react and extend her shield to Jacob, so she knew that she wasn't protecting him.

Jane quickly turned her attention to Kaure and attempted to use her powers against her, but again it was blocked.

Kaure, who knew full well what Jane's powers were as Edward and Bella had filled her in chose to take a few moments to goad her.

"Is that the extent of your power. The ability to glare at people" she cackled.

Jane stamped her foot and growled.

"Oh my, you acted just like a petulant child then" Kaure goaded further.

Aro was very frustrated by this turn of events. They were letting these humans with over inflated ego's stall them for too long.

"You know I am usually quite a patient man and despite the many years I have lived I am not over sadistic, but you are bringing out the worst side of me and I warn you all know cease and desist this nonsense. Bella can be forgiven as she is still quite new, but you Edward Cullen should know better than to anger us. Remember at the moment I want you to join us and bring to us your enhanced skills, but I can change my mind at any moment. If you push me too far I will set about destroying you, your wife and your daughter rather than taking you alive"

Edward growled and held tightly onto Bella's shoulder.

"I'm sorry Aro, but Bella and I have no intentions of joining you, we've already discussed things and we're rather be destroyed than become one of your puppets. I reiterate what Bella said earlier though, you will not get your hands on our daughter."

Aro sighed. This was not going well at all.

"So I see we're at an impasse, but surely Edward you aren't so foolish to put your faith in these women. Just what are they going to do to us" he snapped.

Edward looked to Kaure and she flashed him a wink. She turned her attention to Athena and they engaged in some form of silent communication.

Athena then started to slowly walk forwards.

Edward, Bella and Jacob were totally bemused at this as Athena was leaving herself open to attack.

Suddenly Marcus, who up until this point had been stood in a bemused silence became fully alert. He looked directly at Athena and a large warm smile flooded his face.

He took a couple of unsteady steps forward and held his hand up in front of him. Athena had transformed into an image that represented the greatest desire of Marcus, his deceased wife Didme.

"Didyme" he called out gently as he continued his approach.

Cauis watched on in horror as his brother approached this strange woman. He kept his eyes on Marcus, but patted Aro on the shoulder.

"What is that old fool doing" he asked incredulously.

Aro however was too dumbstruck to respond. He too could see Didyme, but for him it represented the image of his greatest fear, his sister that he killed all those years ago.

Aro took a step towards his brother and stoop open mouthed.

"Didyme" he called out too.

Caius couldn't believe what he was seeing.

"Have you both gone mad, my brothers" he called out, but Marcus and Caius were too engrossed in what they could see.

Edward, Bella and Jacob watched on with great interest as events unfolded before their eyes.

Marcus had now reached Didyme and was staring deep into her eyes. Edward couldn't but think that he had never seen Marcus look so happy.

"Didyme, my belovd Didyme. Is it really you" Marcus asked over and over again.

Athena didn't answer, but just smiled at him warmly. Marcus lifted his hand and gently traced the contours of Didyme's face.

Aro stood a few steps back trying to understand what he was seeing. It was so long ago when he killed his sister, but he had fled from her body so quickly and ordered some of his men to take care of it, could it really be that she had survived and flee'd.

Aro called out "Didyme, my dear sister"

Athena stopped smiling sweetly at Marcus in order to glare at Aro.

Aro recoiled a step.

"Oh Didyme, do you still hate me so much after all this time" he pleaded.

Marcus turned to look at his brother and snarled.

"You stay away from her Aro, she is mine" he hissed out.

As Marcus turned to look back at his lost love he hadn't seen Athena slip on the tri-let onto her hand. He was too engrossed in looking into her eyes and tracing the contours of her face with his hand that he thought nothing of her raising her hand to his.

As she pressed the trilet to his forehead the illusion of her appearance broke and the true sight of Athena was displayed for Marcus. He only had a split second to realise that it was not Didyme, before he felt a searing pain radiate from his forehead down to the rest of his body.

His brothers looked on in horror as Marcus emitted a high pitched scream before his body disappeared and all that was left was a pile of dust on the ground beneath where he had stood.

Aro made a hasty retreat back to his brother and grimaced.

"What was that" he demanded, still in shock from the loss of his brother and the trickery of seeing his sister.

Kaure smirked and let out a small chuckle.

"I told you, my tribe we are guardians of humanity. Over the centuries it has been our duty to protect humans from your kind. For a long time we were spread across the world and had many battles with your type, but over the years your kind became more judicious with their killing. Some of our tribes stopped being active and died out, but others focused more on their own areas. My tribe is one of the most active left" she explained.

Aro was uncharacteristically lost for words.

"I obviously misjudged the situation, but despite your hidden abilities, surely you must realise that you are outnumbered."

Kaure shook her head and clicked her fingers. Moments later several other tribeswomen all appeared and stood close to Kaure and the others.


	14. Battle continues and switched allegience

**Chapter 14 – The battle continues and switched allegiance**

Aro and Caius let out a gasp as the other tribeswomen appeared. They still outnumbered their opponents 2 to 1, but this certainly made their victory less assured, especially in light of what happened to their brother Marcus.

Aro began to calculate their options. He wasn't willing to leave without Edward, Bella and Renesmee, but perhaps he could assure Kaure and her tribes safety in return for them standing down.

"I see that this battle is more even than we had anticipated, but you are still outnumbered my dear" Aro reasoned

He paused to gauge Kaure's reaction before continuing.

"Perhaps we can negotiate here. Surely if we promise to leave you and your tribe alone and leave quietly with Edward, Bella and Renesmee, we can avoid any unnecessary violence. I will of course retract my earlier decision to take your niece with us" he said in a calm and soothing voice.

Kaure stepped forward and looked over at Edward and Bella for a moment.

She turned back to Aro and ran a hand through her hair.

"So if we stand back and let you leave with Edward, Bella and Renesmee you would leave here and never return" she asked.

Bella gasped and Edward squeezed her shoulders reassuringly

"Wait, let her finish" he murmured into her ear.

Aro nodded in affirmation

"Of course my dear, I am a man of my word as is my brother" he assured Kaure.

Kaure took a deep breath and gave the appearance of considering the offer for a moment.

"It's very tempting Aro, but I am afraid it's a no deal. You see we're awfully fond of Edward, Bella and Jacob and my niece would never forgive me if i allowed harm to come to Renesmee, so I thank you for your offer but.. NO... besides I do believe that we have the upper hand here so you have no real bargaining power do you?" she asked.

Aro narrowed his eyes.

"What do you mean you have the upper hand. Is maths not your strong point, you are outnumbered my dear"

Kaure sighed.

"It wouldn't matter if we were outnumbered 5 to 1, you and your men are simply no match for us, didn't your brothers earlier destruction alert you to some of the methods at our disposal"

Kaure lifted her hand up palm facing forward to show she was wearing the tri-let.

"See this pendant, it may just look like a bit of pretty jewellery, but it's actually the key to your destruction. All it took was for Athena here to place her pendant to your brothers head and he turned to dust. It won't be difficult to do the same to the rest of you" she goaded.

Aro studied the tri-let pendant for a moment.

"Just what is this supposed magical pendant" Aro enquired.

Kaure looked over to Aro and was pleased to see that he looked worried.

"This is a bloodstone. All of the tribal women you see before you have one in their possession, but not all of them choose to use them, some prefer to get their hands dirty in some hands on combat" she said rather glibly.

Caius was listening on with great interest.

"Do you expect us to believe that a small pendant such as the one you possess can destroy our kind so easily" he asked in a sharp tone.

Kaure nodded

"I have no doubt it will work against you and your men, but interestingly enough it doesn't work on Edward and Bella. We assume it is down to your diet, but perhaps it's just because Edwar and the rest of the Cullens have purer souls"

Aro and Caius, despite feeling in some danger were both fascinated by the concept of this pendant.

Whilst this conversation was going back and forth Jane saw an opportunity to get a little leverage. She silently made her way to the hut where Renesmee and Tawémake were hiding. If she could just grab one or both of them then it would put the ball back in the court of her master.

Jane's journey to the hut was going so well, until Felix realised what she was doing. Much to his surprise his first thought was that of his daughters safety.

"JANE NO" he called out.

Jane hissed and hurried her movements.

Felix couldn't stand the thought of Jane harming his daughter.

"Kaure, she's trying to..." he called out, before falling to the ground and writhing in pain as Jane cut him off by using her powers against him.

Kaure immediately reacted to Felix calling out her name. As she realised what was happening she was floored on two counts. First and foremost she was angry at the audacity of this Jane's attempt to get to her niece and Renesmee, but she was even more astounded at the fact that Felix tried to warn her and to protect her niece... his daughter.

Jane quickly called out to two other members of the guard to come with her as she was almost at the hut.

Jacob was the first to react.

"Oh no you don't" he shouted

He then phased into wolf form and blocked Janes path to the hut.

"Get out of my way mutt" she snarled, but Jacob refused to back down.

Kaure nodded to two of her tribeswomen and they phased into the MngWa and flanked Jacob either side.

"What the hell is this." Jane yelled out

"Not only do we have to put up with shape shifting wolves now we have fierce cats"

Jane paced from side to side trying to work out how to get past Jacob. She then gave the orders to the other two guard members to battle with the MngWa's.

The fight between the Volturi guardsmen and MngWa's was over very quickly. They were simply no match for the fierce creatures. Several members of the guard took step back in horror, fearing what they were seeing.

Aro gave them all warning glances to stand their ground.

Jane growled in frustration.

"Last warning… dog! Get out of my way or else I'll make you" she snarled.

Jacob shook his head and bared his teeth.

Jane was about to advance when she felt a hand touch her shoulder

"What now" she snapped before spinning around to see a mirror image of herself staring back at her.

"It's just a trick" she said as she studied the mirror image in front of her.

The tribal woman posing as Jane grinned sweetly before using Jane's own power against her, within seconds Jane was writhing on the floor in agony.

Alec looked on in horror as his sister was in obvious agony, he ran to help her as fast as he could, but wasn't fast enough to stop the tribeswoman placing the trilet pendant to Jane's head and turning her to dust.

Alec slumped to the ground and picked up a handful of dust and watched as it ran through his fingers.

"Jane" he whimpered.

He had no time to mourn the destruction of his sister as the tribeswoman quickly applied the trilet to his forehead and he was soon a pile of dust mixed in with his sisters.

Aro and Caius were both visibly taken aback by this turn of events.

Edward and Bella started to feel hope as this was all working better than expected.

"Not so sure of yourself now are you Aro" Bella called out, taking some pleasure out of seeing him squirm.

Aro was dumbfounded by what he had just witnessed. Jane and Alec were two of his prized possessions and their demise alongside Marcus's was just too much to bear.

Aro began to panic. He was no longer sure of their victory and now, for the first time in many years actually feared for his life.

"It seems Edward and Bella have made their feelings quite clear and do not want to join us" he said to Caius.

Caius nodded his head in agreement. He was not one for running away from battles, but given what he had seen so far they were up against some formidable opponents.

"I agree my brother, perhaps we should accept our losses and bid these people goodbye"

Aro and Caius began to retreat a few steps back, but Edward shook his head.

"I'm sorry, but we want this finished. Bella, myself and Renesmee will not live our lives in fear of you changing your mind and coming after us again. We've had enough Aro and we want this ended. One way or another"

Aro held his hands up in mock surrender.

"Please Edward, My brothers and I have ruled over the vampire world for many years and if you do anything stupid like rid the world of us, you'll be sorry." Aro replied

Caius liked where his brother was going with this.

"Aro's right Edward. If by some miracle you defeat us and bring down the Volturi, there will be no order. Vampires will no longer feel obliged to hide themselves and this could bring pain and destruction to humans and you wouldn't want that would you"

Edward exchanged a pained look with Bella. He hadn't actually considered the consequences of a world without the Volturi.

Bella lowered her shield and spoke to Edward silently.

"Don't listen to them Edward. The Volturi rule the vampire world with fear. If we are able to get rid of them then we can elect new leaders, ones that not only keep deaths of humans to a minimum, but would do so by ruling our kind fairly. Think of the possibilities. If we were ruled with someone like Carlisle, who could share the successes of the Cullens and the Denalis who blend in with society rather than hiding in the shadows, he could change things for the best."

Edward took a few moments to consider this and knew that Bella was right. If the Volturi is defeated it would mean a lot of change, but change was good.

He noticed that Kaure was studying his and Bella's silent communication and he took a moment to meet her eye contact and smile at her. Kaure seemed to visibly relax.

Edward turned his attention back to Aro and Caius who were stood flanked by the remainder of their guardsmen

"I'm sorry Aro and Caius, but we choose to fight"

Aro glared at Edward and sighed. He turned to his brother Caius and sighed.

"Very well a fight it is, but let it be known that we intend to fight hard" he sneered.

Caius bared his teeth and let out a snarl.

Aro turned to look to the remainder of his guard and raised his right arm in the way.

"Are you ready men. These people want a battle and a battle they should have."

Several of the guard raised an arms in support and joined in with the snarling, but others stood with a look of fear in their eyes.

Aro picked up on this immediately and repeated his question. The unsure guards reluctantly joined in, but Felix however remained silent and stared at Kaure.

His eyes glanced over to the hut and back to Kaure and he knew in that instant that his loyalty was not with his master, it was with Kaure and the daughter he just found out he had.

Aro turned to Felix and studied his features. Felix looked deep in thought and this confused Aro. In all the years Felix had worked for him he had never once hesitated to join in a fight.

"Are you not excited Felix?" he asked

As Aro spoke those words Felix was snapped out of his thoughts for a moment. He turned back to look at his master, but for the first time he really studied Aro. All these years serving him, he had been ruled with fear, but as he studied Aro closer he could see the look of fear in Aro's eyes, despite his act of bravado. Had he really been so blind all this time and overlooked the fact that Aro was really nothing on his own? it was the power he held over others to do his bidding that made him something to fear.

Felix, who was stood to the right of Aro, but a few men away felt an odd sense of freedom. He at this moment realised that he didn't need to listen to Aro's commands.

He broke his gaze with Aro and turned his gaze to Kaure. She was staring at him in confusion. Felix looked from her to the hut and back to her and tried to think of some way to communicate that he wanted to fight with her not against her.

He watched on as Edward approached her and spoke into her ear.

Edward explained to Kaure that Felix wanted to fight with them not against them and in particular to protect Tawémake.

Kaure was a little taken aback by this, but nodded to Felix in agreement.

Aro was getting tired of Felix not answering him.

"What the hell are you playing at Felix" he snapped.

Felix turned to Aro and looked at him directly in the eye, something which he was usually too afraid to do.

"What the hell am I playing at?" he asked mockingly to goad Aro.

Felix sped across to join Kaure and the others before turning his attention back to Aro.

"I'm realising whose side I am really on" he called back.

Aro was enraged about this turn of events.

"Get back here this instant" he commanded, but Felix would not respond.

He was not about to let Aro get anywhere near his daughter. He would do all that was in his power to protect her and if that meant helping out Kaure and the others then so be it.


	15. End of an Era

**Chapter 15 – End of an Era**

Caius had tired of all the talking that was happening and just wanted to get on with things.

"Enough of all this chatter, let's fight" he shouted out.

A chorus of snarls and growls were let out as the Volturi prepared to attack.

Aro pushed all his doubts and fears to the back of his minds and looked forward to getting his hands dirty for once.

"Show no mercy and make sure whoever you fight with really do suffer. Oh and a hefty reward for anyone who manages to kill the two little brats they have hidden away in that hut" Aro snarled the words out as he felt a surge of vindictive feelings bubble up.

Both sides prepared themselves for battle and the tension in the air was thick. Aro appeared to be stalling to give the command so Caius took control.

"Charge" he shouted out and immediate he and the Volturi guard started their advance. Aro meanwhile appeared to be rooted to the spot.

Demitri made a beeline to the hut where Tawémake and Renesmee were hiding. He knew that he could really please his masters if he managed to get one or both of the girls.

Felix however spotted what he was doing straight away. Felix alerted Kaure to the danger and she joined him with blocking Demitri's path to the hut.

"Out of my way" snarled Demitri, but Felix shook his head and crouched down ready for attack.

"No way Demitri, if you want to get to those girls you have to go through me" he growled.

Demitri shrugged his shoulders and said "Very well, I never did like you anyway"

Kaure held back a bit to give Felix his chance against Demetri. As Demetri charged forward Felix blocked his path and collided against him.

The two vampires fell to the ground and started to fight against each other. Demetri managed to take a bite at Felix's shoulder, but Felix shoved him off. As Demetri fell backwards to the ground Felix jumped on top of him and pinned his hands down, whilst biting at Demetri's face and neck.

The two were pretty evenly matched and the advantage swung from one or another. Kaure was pleased at how ferociously Felix was fighting to save his daughter. She resisted the urge to step in until she overheard Demetri refer to her niece as "that little bitch."

As anger surged through her body she knelt down to where the two were scuffling and just as Felix had rolled on top of Demetri she placed the trilet to Demetri's head and he let out a blood curdling scream before turning into dust. Felix landed with a thud on the ground.

Realising he was laying on the ashes of his former friend Felix quickly stood up and dusted himself off. He extended his hand to help Kaure up and they shared an uneasy smile.

"That was… err weird" he said, whilst not quite able to take his eyes off the trilet pendant on Kaure's palm.

Kaure patted his on the shoulder with her hand and chuckled.

"Don't worry, I will only use this against you if I have to" she said.

Felix and Kaure stood guard outside the hut as the battle went on around them.

Edward and Bella were tackling two members of the guard and doing quite well. Edward had just decapitated the guard he was fighting and had started to put the head and other body parts on the small fire he had started, whilst Bella was taking on her own opponent. She was holding her own, but Edward just couldn't shake the feeling of needing to protect her and he stepped in to help her.

Bella was a little upset at his interference, but they didn't have much time to discuss things as another Volturi member came at them. This time Edward stepped back and let Bella have all the fun.

The stood watching the fire they had made as the body parts from the three men they had thought with burnt to a crisp.

Jacob, who was still in wolf form was working with Pandora and Grace, who were both in the form of a MngWa. Between them they had successfully taken out 4 men. They too had a fire going and were now in the process of dragging the body parts in order to burn them.

Caius spotted a tribeswoman who appeared to be distracted and busy watching what Jacob, Pandora and Grace were doing. As he put his arms around her neck she let out a strained scream.

His grip was strong, but this tribeswoman decided to phase and turned herself into a MngWa. As she turned her neck was still being compressed by Caius, but she now had the upper hand strength wise and struggled against his grip. Eventually he broke his hold and she spun round to snarl at him.

She lowered her back haunches ready to attack and Caius tried to back up in preparation to flee, but there were two other tribeswomen behind him. They gripped at his arms and held him in place whilst the tribeswomen he had tried to strangle approached him.

In MngWa form the tribeswoman bared her teeth and took a bite at Caius's waist. He called out in agony and tried to wriggle free. The MngWa then took a bite at his leg and again Cauis screamed out in pain, but he had pissed this tribeswoman off and she was determined to have her fun.

After another bite to his other side, the MngWa sat back and bowed its head to the two women either side of Caius.

Caius tried in vain to struggle, but was unable to free himself of their grasp.

"Please.." he called out, but they tribeswomen showed no mercy. The woman to his left placed the trilet pendant to his forehead and he let out a blood curdling scream, before turning to dust.

Aro, who was still rooted to the spot looked on in horror, not quite able to make himself move.

Aside from Aro there were not only five members of the guard left. Three of them continued to fight, but Felix and Edward worked together and took out one of them, whilst Jacob and Pandora took out another.

The third one was turned to dust by one of the women who had just finished Caius off. The two remaining guards looked to each other and tried to flee, but they were swiftly taken out by four of the tribal women who worked in pairs, one in the form of a MngWa, who knocked the guard to the floor and pinned him down, whilst the other used the trilet to finish him off.

Edward and Bella shared a stunned look as they realised it was just Aro left now. They almost felt pity as they saw him stood rooted to the same spot he started off in.

Jacob phased back into human form and quickly donned a pair of shorts and stood side by side with Edward and Bella.

"That… was… great" he said, over pronouncing every word due to his excitement.

Kaure and Felix joined them as did the other tribal women. They stood chatting for a while before all focusing on Aro, who appeared visibly shaken.

Aro couldn't believe what he had just witnessed. They hadn't lost any of their side, but his brothers and all of the guard he brought with him had been destroyed.

"I.." he began, not quite able to find the words.

Aro's sense of self preservation suddenly kicked in and he tried to save himself. Surely now he was no longer a threat they could show mercy.

"Edward, Bella, please you have proved your point. What possible threat am I now" he asked in a pleading voice.

Edward and Bella both shook their heads in disbelief. They couldn't quite believe that Aro would dare to plead his case after all he had done.

"You're quite right, you are no threat, but that doesn't change a thing. You do not get out of this one Aro" snarled Bella.

Aro started to back up, but several of the tribeswomen repositioned themselves to block his exit. He was now trapped and covered at all sides.

Aro slumped to his knees and held his hands to his head. Dry sobs rippled through his body as he contemplated what was happening.

"Please, I am just an old fool, who lusted for too much power. I am nothing now, I can do you no harm" he sniffled.

Bella stepped forward and put her hands on her hips.

"What was it you said, let me think… Oh that's right." Bella began.

She then began to quote what Aro had said earlier.

"Show no mercy and make sure whoever you fight with really do suffer. Oh and a hefty reward for anyone who manages to kill the two little brats they have hidden away in that hut"

Aro swallowed hard and regretted speaking those words.

"That was just to get the men riled up for battle, of course I didn't mean it" he said meekly.

Edward looked down at Aro and was amazed at how weak and pathetic he looked.

"You meant every word you said Aro. In your mind you knew that even if we were to defeat you all, if one of your men could at least harm Renesmee or Tawémake then our victory would be bitter sweet"

Edward tapped his head to remind Aro of his gift.

Aro looked at Edward and was suddenly reminded of why he lusted after his power.

"Damn you, Damn you all" he said.

Bella smiled at Edward and turned back to survey Aro, who looked nothing like the man who had filled her with fear countless times.

She locked eyes with Aro and spoke with a clear and certain tone.

"Three times now you have threatened to take away all that is good in my life, for your own selfish gain, well never again Aro. I refuse to live the rest of my existence fearing you. I am not a vindictive person, but you don't deserve any mercy as you have shown no mercy to countless others before now"

Aro didn't know how to respond to that as Bella was right. If the shoe was on the other foot he would not show any mercy.

He let out a guttural snarl at Edward and Bella and then stood up and tried to run, but no matter what path he took his route was blocked. Slowly and surely the Tribeswomen moved in on him until eventually he was cornered in the centre of the clearing.

He sunk back to his knees again and heaved with dry sobs.

"Please, Please, Please" he muttered over and over again.

Kaure stepped forward and had her trilet at the ready. She still had Bella's earlier words in her head and realised that this moment would change Edward and Bella's life forever and this seemed to be a really big event, especially for Bella.

Kaure held out her other hand and used it to beckon Bella to join her. Bella shared a quick glance to Edward, who encouraged her after picking up on Kaure's earlier thoughts.

As Bella stood side by side with Kaure, who was towering over Aro she tried to fight back the little twinge of compassion she was feeling for this hateful man.

Kaure placed Bella's hand over the back of her hand which was wearing the trilet pendant and in unison they lowered the hand onto Aro's forehead. He didn't even try to struggle, he just stared deep within Bella's eyes and whispered the word "Sorry" before he turned into dust.

Everyone was silent for a moment, but soon various tribe members started to celebrate their victory. It was too hard not to join in the celebrations and Edward, Bella and Jacob tried their best not to focus too much on what had happened, but focus on the fact that they were no longer in danger.

Seconds later Renesmee and Tawémake ran out of the hut. Edward, Bella and Jacob all crowded around Renesmee, who were telling them how great they all thought.

Tawémake ran straight to Kaure, who hugged her niece tightly. She then held Tawémakes hand and led her over to Felix, who was able to speak to his daughter directly for the first time.

As they spoke he marvelled at how much she looked like her mother. He told Tawémake this and she returned a great bit smile to him and explained that Kaure was always telling her the same thing.

As the two bonded Tawémake noticed the nasty looking bite on Felix's shoulder that Demetri had given him. Felix tried to downplay the bite, but Tawémake was transfixed and gingerly put her hand out to touch the bite.

Felix looked at Kaure, who just smiled at him in encouragement. He stayed as still as a statue and allowed Tawémake to touch the bite. He prepared himself for the pain he'd feel, but the pain never came. The dull ache that was already there subsided at the same time.

Tawémake pulled her hand back and looked at Kaure with a big grin on her face and seemed very pleased with herself. Felix rubbed his hand over where the bite mark was and felt nothing but smooth skin.

"But…" he began

Kaure patted him on the shoulder and chuckled.

"Your daughter is special" she replied.

Tawémake nodded her head and smiled proudly. She picked up a wilted flower, that was discarded on the ground nearby.

Felix watched in awe at the flower began to bloom again.

"Wow" was all he could say.

Kaure observed as Tawémake and Felix talked away and realised that her sister had been right to see something good in Felix. It would take her a long time to forgive him for making her sister miserable and trust would take a long time to build, but she was willing to put in the effort if he was.

As if reading her mind Felix smiled warmly at Kaure.

"If you are happy with it, I would love to stick around. I will need some support and guidance from Edward and his family with regards to my diet, but I am willing to change if it means being able to stay here and get to know Tawémake better" he asked.

Kaure didn't even hesitate before agreeing.

Edward and Bella smiled happily at this exchange.

"We'll give you all the help you need Felix." Edward promised.


	16. Late to the Party

**Chapter 16 – Late to the party**

As soon as they reached the boat launch Emmett and Sam flew off the boat. For the latter part of the journey they had been bickering over whether the Cullens or the Pack should take the lead and neither would back down.

It was in a fit of desperation for some peace and quiet that Carlisle suggested that Emmett and Sam should take the lead, representing both parties and that everyone else would follow them at a slight distance to keep up the element of surprise.

Emmett and Sam, who had phased onto wolf form both ran through the compound listening out for sounds of battling, but they heard nothing. Eventually as they reached the centre of the compound they heard noises.

They shared a confused look as they heard what sounded like music and laughter. As the thought of the Volturi celebrating their victory Emmett and Sam were enraged. Emmett patted Sam on the head to get his attention then whispered into his ear.

"On the count of three we charge in there and take out whoever we can"

Sam nodded and settled down onto his back haunches in preparation to attack.

"One… two… three.." whispered Emmett before running at full speed. He almost ran straight into one of the fires, before managing to stop himself. Sam was by his side snarling at first then utterly silent.

The pair of them stood with mouths agape at the scene in front of them. Edward and Bella was stood watching Jacob and Renesmee dancing to some tribal music that Gustavo and two others were playing.

Meanwhile Felix was sharing a dance with Tawémake and everyone was smiling and laughing.

"Excuse my language everyone, especially the children present but what the fuck is happening" Emmett shouted out.

The music halted and all eyes turned to Emmett and Sam.

"What took you so long?" goaded Edward flashing Emmett a big grin.

Suddenly Carlisle, Esme, Alice, Jasper, Rosalie and the pack all appeared in the clearing and a look of confusion filled all of their faces.

Sam and the rest of the pack all exchanged glances after having a telepathic conversation where effectively they all wondered what the hell was going on. They all ran off and disappeared for a few moments before reappearing back in human form.

Sam looked over to Jacob and crossed his arms.

"We race halfway across the world to come and save you and we find you all dancing and laughing." He accused playfully.

Jacob let out a husky laugh and looked over to Edward and Bella.

"Looks like we have a lot of explaining to do" he said with a grin.

Emmett, who was smarting at missing out on the action sighed.

"How about you start off with where Aro is" he asked sharply.

Edward, Bella and Jacob began to laugh.

Emmett crossed his arms and narrowed his eyes at them.

"What is so funny" he demanded.

Bella and Jacob were still in fits of giggles, but Edward managed to compose himself.

"I'm sorry Emmett. We're really not trying to upset you here, it's just things were very tense here for a while and I guess everyone is trying to relax." Edward began.

Edward raked his hand through his hair and looked down at Emmett's feet.

"Oh by the way, you asked where Aro is. Well you're standing in him"

Emmett looked down to his feet and saw he was standing on a pile of ashes.

"Eughhh! That is disgusting" complained Emmett

He hastily stepped to a clear spot and tapped his feet a few times to dislodge the ash that coated the base of his shoes.

"Wait a minute, did you just say I was standing in Aro" he asked.

The Cullens and the pack all surveyed the floor and found several piles of dust. Their faces were a mix of fascination and disgust.

Carlisle wasn't quite sure how to take this turn of events. He had spent the last couple of days fearing he would never see his son, daughter and granddaughter again. He never once considered arriving to find Aro and his brothers as little more than piles of dust.

"I am so very glad that you are all okay, but would it be possible to fill us all in." he asked, looking at Kaure, who he suspected had played a much bigger hand in this than he first thought.

Kaure, Edward, Bella and Jacob began to fill everyone in on what had happened. Carlisle was fascinated when he learned more about Kaure's tribe and their abilities. He was thunderstruck when they explained about the battle and how easily Aro and the others were destroyed.

As they explained about Felix and Tawémake and how Felix wished to follow their diet he agreed to give all the help that he could.

Carlisle and Esme embraced as they watched their family enjoying the company of Kaure's tribe. They had learnt so much over the past few hours, they were happy to just take a break and enjoy everyone's company.

"You know. I can't say I would ever want to repeat the feeling of dread that filled me these last few days, but I am most glad that all of this happened." Esme murmured.

Carlisle rubbed her arm and nodded in agreement.

Emmett was sat on the floor with Renesmee bouncing on his knee. Renesmee was happily replaying the day's events to Rosalie using her powers. They were also joined by Felix and Tawémake, who was showing them her power of bringing life back to flowers and insects.

Alice and Jasper shared a cuddle and chatted happily to Pandora, Athena and Grace who were happily explaining more about their tribe's history and the trilet pendant. Alice was absent-mindedly playing with a trilet on her hand. She was trying to come to terms with the fact that although this was harmless to them, it would mean destruction for vampires who feasted on human blood.

Jacob, Sam and the rest of the pack were with a group of tribeswomen, they were taking it in turns to phase into wolves and MngWa's and comparing strengths and abilities.

Edward and Bella meanwhile took a few moments to wander off together and reflect on all that had happened.

"It feels oddly strange, not to be worried" said Edward.

Bella put her arms around him and snuggled her head into his neck.

"I know what you mean." she replied.

As they held each other Bella dropped her shield to let Edward into her mind.

"There'll be some pretty hefty changes coming up. I mean someone will want to rule the vampire world, what if we end up with someone like the Romanians, who are just as greedy for power as Aro and his brothers were"

Edward stroked her hair away from her face and kissed her forehead.

"I don't think the Romanians will be a problem. Once word spreads that the Cullens brought down the Volturi, I can't imagine any particular group wanting to rush into power." Edward replied.

Bella narrowed her eyes in confusion.

"Do you think Kaure and her tribe will be safe? What if others of our kind try to seek them out and destroy them" she asked.

Edward didn't much like the thought of that, but had a sudden realisation.

"We don't need to worry about that either. No-one knows of their existence but us. Most of our kind, like Aro and his brothers treat stories of their existence as little more than old legends, so we don't fill them in. We spread the word that we dealt with them instead."

Bella chuckled at the prospect of the entire vampire race being fearful of a family of vampires who were among the kindest of people, living and not that she knew.

Edward and Bella returned to the others and filled them in with what they discussed. Carlisle and the others agreed that keeping the secret of Kaure's tribe would be a good idea and Kaure thanked them.

Over the next few hours everyone just enjoyed each other's company. Renesmee and Tawémake played well together and everyone loved watching how they interacted.

As the night wore on Bella and Felix put their daughters down to rest for the night.

"I never considered I would ever be a dad" Felix mused.

Bella smiled at him.

"I never considered I would be a mum, but I promise you this, there is no job as rewarding as watching your child grow."

Felix, who wasn't usually one for his emotions found himself unable to come up with a response to that, he simply nodded and smiled down at his daughter who was resting soundly.

"Is it always like this" he asked

Bella took her eyes away from Renesmee and looked back at Felix.

"what did you say" she asked

Felix chuckled.

"Is it always so complex, this feeling human lark. I mean I have spent so many years doing the bidding of Aro and his brothers that I forgot what it is like to be human. When I met Yula, Tawémake's mum I felt something then, but I didn't quite understand the feeling until I had to leave her. I just ploughed myself back into being a yes man for Aro and forced myself not to feel again, but I think I like it. I think I like … feeling"

Bella patted Felix on the shoulder and couldn't help but remark on how much his features had softened. She then looked down at his Volturi outfit and shook her head.

"Come with me" she requested and dragged Felix along with her.

They found Alice with Jasper quietly discussing something. As they approached Alice stopped talking and turned to greet them.

"Of course Bella, I have just the thing" she said.

Felix face contorted to reflect the utter confusion he felt. Jasper couldn't help but let out a laugh and he patted him on the shoulder.

"Try being married to someone who has visions of the future and that will really blow your mind" he quipped.

Felix suddenly realised that whatever it was that was on Bella's mind to ask Alice had already been forseen.

He was about to ask Bella what was going on when Alice appeared with some neatly folded clothes draped on her ams.

"You, in there and change into these" she commanded.

Felix didn't dare argue and dutifully went inside the hut and took the clothes in with him. As he changed out of his Volturi clothing and into the clothes that Alice provided him, he noticed a distinct absence of mirrors in the room. He didn't know how he looked in the blue denim jeans and pale yellow fitted top, with black patent leather shoes that Alice had provided, but he realised anything had to be better than what he had on.

As he left the hut he found Alice to be jumping up and down and clapping excitedly.

"Perfect, Perfect" she said.

Felix felt a little uncomfortable being on a fashion parade like this.

"Is she always so excitable" he muttered

Jasper shook his head and chuckled.

"You have no idea!" he responded.

Felix then noticed that there was something tall next to Alice, with a cover over it. His jaw dropped as she took off the cover to reveal a full length mirror. Felix decided not to ask how the hell she got a hold of it, but was too distracted by his appearance in the mirror.

Aside from some clothes stolen from one of the humans he killed when he was last in the area he hadn't warn anything other than his Volturi robes in so long.

"I look so different" he said in a strained voice.

Bella and Alice smiled at each other.

"You look great, much better now you don't look like a Volturi guardsman" they both said at the same time.

After Felix grew accustomed to his new look he was escorted back to Kaure and the others. As Kaure saw the new look she clapped. He looked so much more like the person that made her sister so happy.

"You look so much better" she mused.

Felix felt like his cheeks where on fire, but he knew that they would just be as pale as ever. He sat down next to Kaure and smiled.

"Do you think Tawémake will like it" he asked a little hesitantly.

Kaure patted his leg.

"I think Tawémake likes you whichever way you come. She knows you're her daddy, she always has, you just need to fill the role now" she responded warmly.

Felix swallowed hard. Could he really be a daddy, after so many years of doing vile things for his masters could he learn to be good? What if he ever lost control of himself around Tawémake?

Kaure picked up on his down mood and could sense he was struggling a little.

"Don't worry. You won't mess up. I'm here to help and Tawémake has several pairs of eyes keeping a close eye on her…. And you"

Felix felt oddly comforted by Kaure's words. He knew that they would never let him lose control and although he may make mistakes along the way, he was determined to give it a go.

"Thank you" he replied and felt a sense of belonging.

"No problem" replied Kaure and they sat side by side with a new found respect for each other and joined in with the evenings festivities.


	17. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The Cullens and the Pack spent the next 2 days enjoying time with Kaure's tribe on the mainland and spending some time back on Isle Esme.

Alice seemed to spend a long time with Pandora and Athena, but every time someone tried to ask her what they were up to, she changed the subject or said that they were just enjoying each other's company.

When the time came to finally leave everyone felt a little down and sad. Renesmee found it particularly hard to say goodbye to Tawémake as the two had gotten so close.

"I promise we'll come back to visit" Bella said softly to Renesmee.

Renesmee hugged her mum tight and nodded her head.

"Can Tawémake visit us too?" she asked.

Bella looked to Kaure and Felix for their opinion.

"I'm sure that can be arranged" replied Kaure.

After a few more hugs goodbye Renesmee reluctantly got onto the boat with Emmett and Rosalie and the La Push pack.

"Thank you again for everything" said Carlisle and Esme and they too got on the boat alongside Jasper, who never did feel too comfortable showing his emotions.

Edward, Bella and Jacob hung back and thanked Kaure for all that she had done for them.

"We owe you our lives and our freedom" Bella began.

Kaure gently rubbed her shoulder and shook her head.

"It was our pleasure. You, Edward and Jacob sure got stuck in as well" she responded.

Edward shook hands with Felix, who spoke to him with his mind.

"Thank you. For everything" he thought.

Edward just patted his shoulder and smiled.

Jacob embraced Kaure in a huge hug.

"Keep in touch." He requested and Kaure agreed.

Edward, Bella and Jacob headed to the boat to join the others.

"Where's Alice" asked Jasper as everyone else was on board and ready to go.

Just then Alice came bounding out of one of the huts, closely followed by Pandora and Athena. She was carrying a box and a big grin.

As she passed Kaure, Felix and Tawémake she paused to wave goodbye then hurried on to the boat.

Alice ignored the curious stares at her and sat with the box on her knee.

"All in good time people" she said.

The boat journey was uneventful and they reached the airport to find that Alice had arranged two private air planes.

"I thought that we all deserved to travel in style"

Several pairs of eyes rolled in her direction.

"Why two planes though" Sam asked.

Alice smiled sweetly and winked.

"Well aside from the fact it was cheaper to get two planes this size than to try and get one large one I figured that the pack would appreciate a flight direct to Forks as the Cullens have a stop to make along the way"

Sam thought that this was perfectly reasonable and the pack gave each other high fives at the thought of travelling in luxury.

"Oh and Jacob and Renesmee will be joining you guys. Charlie is going to have his granddaughter stay with him for a couple of days. It's all been arranged"

Jacob was more than happy with this idea. After everything they'd been through for the last few days he was looking forward to spending some quality time with Renesmee and Charlie.

Bella and Edward turned to Alice and shook their head.

"What are you up to Alice. What's with all the secret meetings with Pandora and Athena, What's in the box and What's this about an additional stop" Alice asked.

Alice smiled at Bella and tapped her head.

"All in good time Bella."

Bella dropped her shield and asked Edward what was going on in Alice's thoughts, but he shook his head.

"She's repeating the song lyrics to I am H A P P Y over and over again at the moment, I can't get any sense out of her."

Alice ignored Edwards comments and continued to set everything in motion.

She organised Jacob, Renesmee and the pack and once they were on board their own plane she turned her attentions back to her family.

She noticed that there were several unhappy faces staring at her as everyone, except for Jasper who knew a little of what was going on seemed to be becoming impatient.

She turned to Jasper and asked "Can you make everyone less tense please."

Jasper nodded and sent out a wave of calm to everyone.

"Right lets all get on the plane and I will explain everything" Alice asked nicely.

There were a few voiced grumbles, but everyone made their way onto the plane. Once the plane had taken off and they received the go ahead to remove their seatbelts Alice called everyone to attention.

"I guess everyone wants to know what's been going on" she began.

"No shit Sherlock" responded Emmett, who hated being kept in the dark like this.

Alice ignored Emmett's little outburst and carried on.

"I think you'll all agree that things will be very different now that the Volturi have been destroyed. It won't take long for the grapevine to spread the news. Myself, Jasper and Felix have already set the ball in motion in that respect."

Carlisle took a moment to interrupt Alice. "Can I ask what the story is?"

Alice smiled and nodded

"Aro, his brothers and his guard all set out to acquire Edward, Bella and Renesmee. However the Cullen family and the La Push pack beat them to Isle Esme and stood up against them. Bella's shield blocked the Volturi's powers and evened up the battle and they were simply no match for us. We also had use of a special weapon" she responded

Carlisle stroked his chin and soaked up the story.

"I assume the special weapon was the bloodstones, but the detail shared was suitably vague" he asked.

Alice nodded her head.

Emmett quite liked this idea of being painted as a better fighter than the Volturi.

"Where are we detouring to Alice" asked Edward, whom Alice was still blocking.

Alice scanned the faces of her family and grinned.

"You're either going to love or hate this" she warned.

Rosalie just rolled her eyes impatiently.

"Just tell us Alice" she demanded.

Alice huffed, she didn't like being rushed.

"Ok, don't get your knickers in a twist Rosalie. We're going to Volterra to inform the wives, disband the remaining few guards who would have remained in the city and take care of their vaults." She responded.

Carlisle sat back in a seat and contemplated what Alice was saying. It made sense that loose ends would need to be taken care of. He assumed that Alice would have made sure the knowledge of the brothers demise would make it to Volterra ahead of them as she would not knowingly lead them to danger, but decided to ask anyway, if nothing else he would ease the worries of the rest of the family.

"Do you forsee any danger when we're there Alice" he asked.

Alice shook her head.

"You know me Carlisle, I have foreseen everything that is about to happen and no danger will come of us. In fact we'll be quite highly regarded when we're there"

Carlisle frowned. Alice was up to something.

"Alice" he said in a questioning voice.

Alice just chuckled.

"Don't worry Carlisle, it's nothing bad" she promised.

Bella recalled the last time she was at Volterra and shuddered at another visit, but at least she knew there'd be no nasty surprises.

"Now are you going to tell us what is in that box" Edward asked.

Alice patted the box and grinned.

"I thought you'd never ask" she giggled

Alice carefully opened the box and there were several wrapped packages inside. She passed everyone the package with their name on it and urged them to open it.

Rosalie was the first to rip her package open. Inside was a beautiful bracelet. It was gold with a large round pendant in the centre, she slipped it on and marvelled at how pretty it was.

Bella, Esme and Alice all had the same as Rosalie.

Edward, Jasper, Emmett and Carlisle all had matching necklaces with chunky gold chains and the pendants similar to the girls.

Suddenly it dawned on Bella.

"These pendants are bloodstones aren't they" she asked.

Alice nodded her head.

"You mean these are made of that stuff that turned Aro and the others into dust" Rosalie asked in a disgusted voice, ready to take her bracelet off.

Alice placed a hand over her bracelet and shook her head for her to stop.

"Rosalie, the bloodstone only works against vampires who feed from humans and even then you have to place it to their forehead to take effect."

Rosalie calmed herself down and went back to admiring how pretty the bracelet was.

Esme noticed that there were still two wrapped packages in the box.

"Who are those for" she asked

Alice patted the box lid back down and grinned.

"Those are for the two remaining wives. You see my vision was quite clear. The two wives have long since been tired of their husband's ways. When we get to Volterra they will be very pleased to see us and quite relieved that Aro and Caius are destroyed. They will feel some remorse for Marcus, but when we explain that his death came from a vision of Didyme, they will be happy for him."

Alice took a deep, yet unnecessary breath and carried on.

"The Vampire race will require new leaders and that will be us. However we will have the assistance of the two wives and they will take a more active role in ruling the race, whilst we act as back up if needed. The stones on our bracelets and necklaces can be removed and used against any of our kind who fall out of line. I don't foresee us using it very often, because the knowledge of what the stones can do will keep most in line."

Everyone sat in stunned silence. They knew better than to bet against one of Alice's visions, but this was going to be such a big change for them all.

As time went by Alice was interrogated for every bit of detail she could remember from her visions. Alice answered all the questions fired at her and the Cullens spent the rest of the journey discussing this vision with each other.

As they continued their journey and began the final approach to Volterra, Edward, Bella and the rest of the Cullens prepared themselves for taking over as leaders of the vampire race.


End file.
